Dual Skill
by AdamantLife
Summary: A teleporter arrives in Academy City with a message...
1. Foreword

**6/6/2010**- Since this chapter is going to be rather long, I'm going to split it so that you guys have something to read while I finish the other half. When I get "Chapter 16" up, I will combine this chapter (Chapter 14) with its second half. So when you see "Chapter 15" about two weeks from now and think, _Wasn't last week Chapter 15? _that's what happened.

**A note of slightly greater importance**: Being as I have only ever watched the animes (both Index and Railgun) and read the manga, there is a lot that I don't know. One of these things was Musujime Awaki. When I started writing this fanfic I had bare minimal information on her. From her 2-second cameo in the anime I got her appearance (her hair seemed to be closer to brown because of the shadows) and she appeared to be a silent character. At the time her Wiki entry was minimal and the best I could gather was that she was a powerful teleporter whose powers had been capped by some tragic event in the past (said tragic event could also explain her muteness). Since then a lot more information has arisen, some of which invalidates parts that I have already written and some things that I had planned. Therefore, I feel it only responsible to state that this fanfic deviates from the canon a bit and that, given how far offbase I already am, will probably stray from it a little more as the story continues.

As a disclaimer, I obviously do not own any of the characters, the setting, the organizations, the mechanics, or anything else you can find in Kamachi-sensei's original works.

For your reference: Previously I had planned on weekly updates on Tuesday; until life straightens itself out I'm updating when possible (slightly less often than once a week). Occasionally, I may feel the need to explain something and will therefore place an asterisk at the end of the sentence and the corresponding note at the end of the chapter. For the most part I am separating these chapters by scene, so some will be rather short.


	2. Preface

Dual Skill: the theory that an esper can have access to multiple psychic abilities at the same time.

As a theory, there have been no observed cases of such a mutation though many scientists in Academy City pursue the subject with vigor. The recent incident involving Professor Kiyama Harumi has added further enthusiasm to the research. While Kiyama's use of Multi Skill merely "borrowed" abilities from other espers in the Level Upper Network it proved for the first time that the human brain has the capacity to process multiple powers, even those of unrelated types. This eliminated the counterargument proposing that power use is hardwired into the brain- either by genetics or some other, unknown precondition- and is therefore inalterable.


	3. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Misaka Mikoto stomped through a gray, nondescript alley. "I can't believe he got away again."

An unfortunate dumpster received the wrath of Misaka's kick. Exuding a sigh, she shook her head and relaxed her posture.

"Ah well, there's no helping it. I'll just have to be sure to crush him next time I see him."

Misaka took a few more steps before halting abruptly. There was suddenly something very close to her. Spinning, her roommate came to mind.

_ Kuro-_

"Um… Excuse me…" A young man, perhaps a senior in high school, stood timidly in the empty space she had just stepped through. His face was mostly shrouded with shadows, but he had his hand behind his head apologetically and gave a slight bow to clarify his meekness. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, but would you happen to know where the closest Level 5 can be found?"

Misaka crossed her arms and raised her head slightly. She studied the boy with suspicion for a moment before deciding to answer. Instead of a school uniform, he wore cargo pants and a sports jacket. His hair was evidently short enough to be hid beneath a black, unlabeled beanie.

"That would be me, though-"

"Oh! How fortunate! I need to give a message… To everyone."

The Electromaster felt her recently quelled anger resurfacing. Closing her eyes for a moment to recompose herself, she felt the familiar leap of static across her brown hair. "You know, I'm not some kind of-"

Before she could finish her rebuttal a closed fist collided with her cheek, sending her tumbling away dizzily. She had an iron-dust field whirling defensively around her before she even stopped rolling.

"Bastard!" she spat as she jerked her head up to face him.

She ignored the blood in her mouth and focused on locating the assailant in the shadow-draped corridor.

Hands softly touched her shoulders and her eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry," the whisper, riding on warm breath, was still apologetic, yet no longer overly innocent, "you were just unfortunate."

Suddenly, Misaka was staring at lights.

There hadn't been lights like these in the alley. There hadn't been wind like this in the alley. The air that had been dusty and dank was now fresh and startlingly thin.

It was a surreal moment.

Misaka was already falling before her mind started working. Her first thoughts weren't even concerned with why she was seeing Academy City from above. She was wondering why she hadn't killed the attacker the second he had touched her shoulders. Had she been so surprised that she hadn't charged her body with a couple thousand watts? Had it been wonder at how close he brought his lips were to her ear? Had it been fear?

The haziness in her mind washed away as she passed the spire of the closest skyscraper. Suddenly realizing how immediate the danger was, she began exerting her powers. She polarized herself and the passing building and felt the magnetic drag slow her down slightly. The pull swung her into the building, the impact knocking the wind from her lungs and shocking her spine. The momentum bounced her away from the wall. Despite the pain she focused on the next closest building. Using enough energy to power either of the buildings she pushed her magnetism against both with the entire length of her body. She was slowing down, but as she approached the pavement she knew it wasn't going to be enough. She took a fraction of a second to steel her resolve.

Channeling all the energy she could through her arms, Misaka let loose a scream of agony. She came to an abrupt stop a few feet above the concrete, hanging crucified and silent in the air. Already unconscious, her powers eventually dissipated and her body dropped the remaining distance to the ground.

Sometime later, when she was eventually stumbled upon, Antiskill was mistakenly called in for a homicide. The battered and unnaturally-bent condition she was in made it an understandable error.


	4. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Life can be very tiring when you're constantly assaulted by bad luck. For example, when you accidentally start a fire while making breakfast, have a neighbor rat you to the landlady, end up late to class because you were apologizing to said landlady, realize you had forgotten your homework because you were running late, have to play yet another round of blindfolded poker with the ruthless Komoe-sensei, and then have it rain on your way home. Bad luck is certainly a slippery slope.

Dismayed by his morning, Touma was in no mood whatsoever to go anywhere but home. But, alas!, the day was _only_ half over. He may have indeed made it home had he ran, but his despair demanded that he soak up the bad luck to satisfy his mood. No matter how literal that happened to be. So instead of making it home, he was hailed by an all-too-familiar "Kami-yan!"

Sighing at the perpetuation of the day's events, Touma hung his head for a moment before turning his exhausted visage towards the café door. As expected, his blue-haired classmate was there waving at him.

"Here, here!"

Sighing yet again, Kamijou Touma took his time getting to the entrance. Once inside, he was accosted by a simultaneous chorus of "Okairinasai Goshujin-sama~!"

… _He would be hanging out at a maid café…_ Touma thought to himself as he surveyed the myriad of maid costumes.

Aogami led him to a booth against the window. There was another young man seated there. He was perhaps a year or two older, had brown hair that fell well past his shoulders, and wore glasses. He gave a timid smile and bowed his head slightly.

_Another unfortunate soul like myself_. Touma conclude. _Hopefully the two of us will be able to keep the conversation normal_.

"Hey, Kami-yan, this is Musujime-dono."

The addition of -dono caused Touma to reconsider his assumption.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Musujime Takeki," the boy bowed again from his seat. "If you would excuse me for not standing, I hurt my leg."

"It's alright. I'm Kamijou Touma." Touma returned the bow.

"Don't let his polite speech fool you, Kami-yan! This guys an adamant maidotaku all the same!"

"I wouldn't…" Takeki bashfully tried to defend himself.

"You should have seen all the girls around him when I found him!"

_And now there are none in sight_. Touma thought ironically to himself with a bit of a smile.

"I wasn't trying to-"

"So, Musujime-dono! What kind of girls do you like? It's gotta be loli, right? Or maybe you're into glasses-moe!"

"Um… No… I simply came in… I didn't know…" Overwhelmed, Takeki could only manage to speak in pieces as he fiddled with his hair.

_Guess I was right about him. Poor guy._ Touma took another sideways glance at Takeki while reading the menu. _He's pretty girly, though.* Well, not like I haven't seen weirder things._

The approach of one of the maids stopped Blue-Hair's verbal assault on Takeki. Her maid outfit was sleeveless with puffy fabric around the shoulders, her skirt ended just above the knees, and her slim legs featured black stockings. Tilting her cat-ears crowned head with a large smile, she offered a towel to Touma and placed a parfait and cake in front of Takeki and Aogami respectively. As she spun around gracefully to place Touma's order Blue-Hair leaned over the table to Musujime.

"I knew it, it's cat ears!"

"No, no, I-" Takeki stumbled over his words as he panicked to see if the waitress had overheard.

Aogami continued to pester the blushing Takeki as they delved into their deserts. Within a few minutes Touma had managed to dry what he could before his own cake came. His spoon was millimeters from the vanilla frosting as his cellphone rang. Picking it up without looking, he was startled to hear the voice from the other side.

"Tooouuuuma~! I'm hungry! It's dinner time and you're not home. You better not be out enjoying treats while Sphinx and I are starving at home!"

_Crap! _"Ahh, of course not! Why would I being doing something like that? It's not like I have the money for something as extravagant as a strawberry-topped cake with strawberry syrup!" Blue-Hair and Takeki both gave Touma's cake a good look. "Not that I wouldn't pay for it if I decided to order it!" Touma added in response.

"Why aren't you home yet!?" Index demanded.

"I'm sorry. I had to stay after school with Komoe-sensei because I was late this morning and forgot my homework!"

"Ah, I forgot you had a girlfriend, Kami-yan!" Grinning, Blue-Hair leaned across the table so he could get a better look at Touma's face. "It's that brown-haired ojou-sama that tackled you that time, right?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kamijou corrected in a loud voice.

"Ah, Kamijou-san, we're in a café," Takeki cautioned.

Touma took a quick look around, slightly embarrassed.

Index's voice came over the phone. "Who are you talking to, Touma? I thought you were on your way home."

"Ah, um, just myself." Before she could question his mental health he covered his mouth and whispered, "I'll be there in just a moment, okay," and hung up.

"Hyuu, hyuu. What was that you just said to your girlfriend? Was it something so naughty you couldn't let us hear it?" Blue-hair teased.

"I told you, she's not my girlfriend!" Knowing he wouldn't be able to sneak the snack home, Touma devoured the cake he had hoped to savor.

"But it was her." Aogami's smile only brightened more.

"Whatever." Kamijou slapped his money on the counter and headed towards the exit, making sure to thank the maid for the towel.

* Aside from his hair style, Takeki uses "Watashi" over "Boku" or "Ore" and uses polite speech. That's a little difficult to convey in English.


	5. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"A third victim, huh?" Elbows propping him up as he worked at his desk, Heaven Canceler sighed at the news. Though it was already noon the blinds in his office were drawn and his visage was marked with fatigue. "Another Level 5?"

"No, Sensei," the nurse reported and stepped forward to hand the doctor a clipboard. "It's a Level 4. She's uninjured, so it's likely unrelated."

Old Frog-face looked at the clipboard and grief pulled his features down. He remembered the person by their picture and didn't bother to move the reading lamp to read the details. "She may have relapsed. Poor girl. How is she right now?"

"She was unconscious upon arrival. However, while we were transferring her to a room she woke up. Her eyes opened suddenly and she started shouting 'oni' repeatedly. It lasted for about a minute before she passed out."

"Something must have triggered her memories of that day," the doctor concluded. He fell silent and thumbed absently through the report while sipping at lukewarm coffee. At length he asked, "Is anyone accompanying her?"

"A body guard of some sort has been with her the whole time. He couldn't even be persuaded to leave when we took her in for examinations. He doesn't appear to be with Anti Skill, though."

Grief shifted a short distance into frustration and the doctor began muttering to himself. "She's in no condition to act on her own. He's too paranoid." Rubbing his forehead with his free hand, Frog-face handed the report back. "Have one of the nurses keep an eye on her and let me know when she wakes up."

Alone in the dim light, the miracle worker leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes. It had been a long, mysterious night.

First the Railgun, Misaka Mikoto, had arrived at the hospital. She was diagnosed with two dislocated arms, a sprained ankle, bruised ribs- a few of which showed hairline fractures-, as well as a few minor lacerations. Certainly a thorough beating, but nothing like the case to follow. Almost as soon as The Canceler had finished working on Misaka another Level Five arrived. The patient was Kakine Teitoku, the second strongest ESPer in Academy City. The phrase "buckets of blood" was for once accurate. He suffered from deep, gaping wounds far larger than a bullet. Furthermore, these wounds were not ragged like normal piercing wounds but rather precisely cut as if a surgeon had cleanly removed the flesh with a scalpel. The fact that he had not died was certainly a miracle. Old Frog-face had proved his title during the operation. It had felt like an eternity.

Heaven Canceler hoped his nap would not be interrupted.

(***)

Uiharu was the only one still crying, albeit softly. Saten had fallen into despondency, understanding too well that there was nothing else for her to do but sit and watch after Misaka. In Kuroko, however, there was a smoldering rage. Kuroko's ability required her to remain focused: it is for that reason that she generally maintained herself well. Everyone, nonetheless, has a breaking point. Shirai Kuroko had long since passed that point. Unlike Saten, Kuroko had power. The storm clouds outside were a metaphorical reflection of her soul.

Finally resolved, Kuroko turned abruptly from the window and kept her gaze fixed ahead as she moved to the door.

"Get to the office, Uiharu," she breathed just loud enough for the girl to hear her.

"Excuse me?" Uiharu wiped the tears from her eyes with her hankerchief.

"Review all the tapes from the alleys around where Onee-sama was found," she stated. "I need to know what he looks like."

"Eh? But!" Uiharu's mind was so much of a mess she couldn't complete the thought and mindlessly fumbled around with words.

Standing in front of the closed door, Kuroko refused to turn around. "We're going to take revenge for Onee-sama."

Uiharu was still fumbling with her words when another voice spoke.

"With what power?" Saten's voice was dispassionate. Her eyes never rose from the floor. "He took down two Level 5's. You're a Level 4. Uiharu's a Level 1." Saten paused. "And I'm still a Level 0. We're nothing compared to a Level 5, let alone something even greater."

Saten's statement helped Uiharu's thoughts to finally establish themselves. "That's right! We should just leave this to Anti Skill. These kinds of things are their responsibility!"

Uiharu saw Kuroko's shoulders shaking. Kuroko stood there with her head hung, soundlessly convulsing, before finally slamming her fist against the door. "We're Judgement, Uiharu! It's our job to protect the students!" she blurted, her voice strained with emotion.

There was a deep silence.

At length Kuroko raised her head and steadied herself. "I _will_ pass Judgment," in a softer voice, she added, "no matter who my opponent may be."

Then she was gone.

Uiharu's eyes darted around the room, unsure of what to do. Saten had closed her eyes and rested her chin in her hands. For Uiharu the silence seemed like an eternity.

"If she doesn't know what he looks like, she may be ambushed," Saten seemed to say to the air. "If you can find him on the tapes, Kuroko will be able to protect herself at least. Besides, when she exhausts herself she'll need you to carry her to her bed."

Uiharu looked past Saten at the bed Misaka rested upon. "But what about Misaka-san?"

Emotion finally returned to Saten, as a sardonic smile on her face and a slightly humored tone to her voice. "Don't worry; I'll be here if she wakes up. We Level 0's are good at sitting around." Before Uiharu could argue anymore Saten urged, "Go on, before we end up with two friends in the hospital."

Uiharu picked herself up and stood as solemn as her childish, tear-streaked face and flowered head could appear. "Understood," and with that she was running out the hospital door.

Alone, Saten's small smile remained. "What I'm good at, huh?"


	6. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

At the very least, the evening was free of bad luck. On his way home, Touma had passed by a street vender selling taiyaki. The vender was a real reminder that Gakuen Toshi was, in fact, located in Japan (much less being a part of Tokyo itself). Holding the pastry at arm's length like a ward, Touma had tentatively opened the front door. Index was standing directly inside and was already halfway through her barrage of questions before she saw the paper bag. She stopped immediately, sniffed at the bag, then swiped it and darted off to the table in front of the television. Touma let out a sigh of pent up anxiety and smiled at how well the tactic had worked. He put his school bag down next to the door and took his shoes off, then headed directly for the kitchenette. He needed to prepare more food before Index finished the treats if he wanted a flawless victory.

And he somehow managed to do just that. Every once in a while everything would go well and bad luck seemed like a distant dream. Well, a distant nightmare.

Regardless, after Index gorged herself on everything placed on the table (which, of course, included what Touma thought was his portion) she curled up next to Sphinx on the bed and fell asleep. Touma turned off the lights to ensure that Index stayed asleep and headed to the bathroom. He finally found the peace he had been searching for all day and enjoyed his time alone in the tub. In a good mood while he was getting dressed, he was surprised, though not depressed, by the doorbell. Rushing over to the door to avoid an additional ring that was sure to wake the sleeping sister, Touma's shirt was still half unbuttoned and sliding off his left shoulder. Opening the door, he was further surprised to find Takeki standing at the entrance.

"Good ev-" Takeki began to say before noticing Touma was half dressed in his pajamas. "Oh!" Takeki bowed on reflex. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be asleep! Please excuse my rudeness!"

"Oh, no no. I wasn't," Touma hurriedly corrected as he fixed his shirt. "I was just getting ready since I wasn't expecting anyone." To prove his point he flipped the light switch on.

From inside the apartment came a groan. "Tooouuuuma~. Turn the lights back off~."

Takeki's face went bright red. "I'm sorry! Sorry for interrupting!" and he bowed and quickly turned back towards the stairs.

"Ah, no! It's not what you think!" Touma grabbed Takeki's wrist. "She's my… uh… Sister! Yeah, she was visiting and got tired, so she's just taking a nap! She definitely isn't living here!"

Takeki took a minute to process the information, and then smiled. "Oh, that's how it is."

The smile reminded Touma of just how much of a bishonen Takeki was. "So, ah, what did you need?"

"Oh, right." Takeki let go of both the smile and his duffel bag. The bag itself was large enough to store a child and seemed a bit ridiculous when compared to the effeminate Takeki. "I am sorry for being a burden like this, but would you please let me stay here?"

Touma was completely caught off guard by the request. He did his best to suppress the impulse to look towards the bed where Index lay as his mind raced to decide on what to say. "Um, isn't there a relative you could stay with?"

Takeki turned a little red again and he brought his hand to his lips as he thought aloud. "Well, Aogami-san kept me too late at the café so I couldn't go look for my sister. I thought it might be a little inappropriate for a boy to stay in a female-only dorm, but if you think that would be best…"

Touma stood paralyzed. He understood well how much his bad luck could turn that situation upside down when his name was inevitably slipped at the dormitory. "Ah, you're in town to see your sister! Don't worry about it then, come right in!" All smiles, Touma quickly opened the door the rest of the way for Takeki and grabbed the duffle bag. The bag was far heavier than it looked. Touma immediately questioned if there was, in fact, a little sister character stowed away inside.

Beaming, the bishonen limped inside. "Please pardon the intrusion!"

"Did you really carry this with your leg like that?" Touma grunted as he did his best to manage the bag with one hand to not appear completely weak.

"Yes. I didn't have much other choice, really."

"What do you have in here anyway?"

"Just clothing. I wasn't sure if I would have a chance to wash my clothes, so I brought enough for the entire trip."

Not sure what else to say, Touma put the bag next to his. "If you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you." Takeki bowed again as Touma stepped out of the apartment and closed the door.

Takeki made his way gingerly into the living area. Lying on the bed was a silver-haired girl in a white nun's habit. She was poking at the kitten lying beside her.

"Touma~ why did you turn-"

Realizing that she was addressing someone she didn't recognize- and thanks to her perfect memorization she was sure she had never seen the person before- she snatched up the cat and tumbled quickly towards the wall on the other side of the bed. Clutching the cat protectively against her chest, she leered suspiciously at the newcomer.

"Who are you? Where's Touma?"

"Ah, my name is Musujime Takeki," the young man introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kamijou-san." As always being sure to bow.

"I'm Index," she corrected. "Where's Touma?"

"Oh, I suppose that would be a little confusing if I addressed you both by your family name. Your brother just went outside to make a phone call." Index drew her eyebrows and lips together in concentration as she scrutinized the boy. Seeing her do so, Takeki put on a big smile. "Please don't look at me like that, I'm not that suspicious."

Index was taken aback by the genuineness of the smile, but quickly repaired her defenses. "A suspicious person would say that!"

Musujime laughed at the remark, which irritated Index. "I suppose they would. The walk here was a little difficult; would it be alright if I sat down?"

Index hummed to herself for a few moments before conceding. Takeki sat down on the floor, leaned his head back, and gave his eyes a rest. Once the stranger was in a less threatening position she relinquished her hold on Sphinx. The cat, finally free, sprinted away from Index who yelped in surprise as she tried to scoop it back up. It dodged her hands and with a graceful leap cleared the three feet between the bed and where Takeki was seated. Surprised by the sudden weight in his lap, Takeki's head jerked forward and he looked down surprised to see the cat curling up in his lap. With a smile he began petting the already purring kitten.

Index was visibly shocked by the betrayal of her feline companion. She restrained the desire to cry out to the cat and in resignation scooped up the blanket and abstinently covered herself with it. With only her face showing, a mixture of sorrow and anger, she seemed like a soft, oversized worm.

After a few moments of silence the front door opened and Touma walked purposefully in. The worm on the bed sat up without use of hands and started asking, "Touma! Who is this Musujime person?"

"Good to see you two already introduced each other!" Touma swung the bound Index over his shoulder and started heading back towards the front door. Takeki was mystified by Touma's actions and sat there speechless. "Sorry if I interrupted your conversation but it's already dark out and Index needs to go home."

Touma opened the front door and stood the Index-roll up.

"TOUMA!" Index began to scream before he could get a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh! Shhh!" Touma whispered. "Listen, I told Musujime-kun that he could stay over, so you're going to have to spend some time at Komoe-sensei's house. I'll make it up to you later."

Index's eyebrows eventually relaxed, though she was still upset, and Touma removed his hand. "Fine," Index acknowledged, "but it better be a lot." The two of them already knew that the payment would be in the form of food.

"Sure, sure. I already talked to Kome-sensei so you can head right over," and with that Touma turned and began closing the door.

"Oh, Touma!" Index called, "My-"

"Oh yeah, your shoes." Touma placed the shoes in front of her.

"No, Touma! My Sphinx!"

Touma, in a hurry to get this whole ordeal over with rushed over to Musujime who had gone back to staring dreamily at the cat as he stroked it.

"Excuse me," Touma said as he scooped the kitten up with one hand. Both Takeki and the cat were shocked by the sudden action and turned towards Touma. Touma rushed back to the door and tossed the cat to Index. In the rush to get her arms unpinned from her body, she yanked on the blanket and tripped herself. Touma closed the door.

"Eh! Sphinx! Claws are no good! Touma!!"

Sighing in relief that all problems, including the added bonus of getting rid of the cat, were resolved, Touma strolled back into the living area.

Takeki stared incredulously at Touma. "Is it really alright to throw the cat like that?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Want me to get the bath ready for you?"

"Oh, um, sure. Thank you," Takeki replied absently as he tried to figure out what "she" was referring to.


	7. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The lights were dimmed in the great, lavished bed room. Dressed in a light, flowing nightgown, Mugino Shizuri's mood wasn't especially bright either. She was seated before a large vanity, located near a vast, mahogany armoire. The white carpet beneath her feet was thick and of the highest quality. Her canopied bed. The glass-paned jewelry box. The cleaning robot. The state-of-the-art alarm clock that only woke her when she completed a sleep cycle, and did so with exquisite, comforting smells and soft, natural sounds.

This life style was becoming difficult to maintain.

ITEM's mercenary business had been going downhill. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to break Mugino, but it was nearing the danger zone. Being defeated by the third strongest esper hadn't hurt the flow of jobs that much; fighting high level espers generally wasn't a worry for her clients. Even being defeated by a Level 0 was only a temporary setback. The greatest blow had been the loss of her arm and eye. Out of the thousands of espers in the entire city she was still the 4th strongest. Being a Level 5 she was even able to circumvent her missing arm in combat. Yet the fact that she was damaged led clients to doubt her abilities.

She gritted her teeth and hugged her left side with her remaining arm.

It was ridiculous. She could have suffered so many other injuries, but the lack of a real limb was something people couldn't ignore.

Those people were obnoxiously stupid.

Mugino slammed her fist onto the vanity's table and let loose a frustrated scream.

As she did so she felt something at her back.

"Ooh! I think you scared it!" came a taunting voice.

Shizuri was instantly on her feet, spinning. Her energy-shaped arm materialized and lashed out as she turned, disintegrating the seatback without causing the rest of the chair to as much as shake. There was nobody there.

"You know, the last esper I fought enhanced their body like that-"

Shizuri turned towards her bed, tense and ready to fight.

"-and then surprised me by using a second power."

"Who are you?" Mugino demanded.

The young man stood on the other side of the bed, his features masked by the light curtains that hung around it. He ignored her question. "So how about we find another power to use?"

Shizuri launched a scorching ray across the room. It seared through the veils on the canopy and then through the wall. Seeing him disappear before her eyes, she understood.

"A teleporter," she ground her teeth. "This is going to be a problem."

"That one's a bit too dangerous to keep around. What else you got?"

A stool flew towards Mugino from her opposite side. She brought her right arm up and generated a shield. The stool dissolved harmlessly, without as much as putting pressure on her arm.

"There we go," the man chirped, "I like that one."

The young lady, who was certainly not dressed for combat, leveled her energy-arm at the trespasser. Not only did he not flinch, but he started stalking towards her.

"Arrogant bastard," Mugino muttered.

The young man, who was certainly not dressed for summer, grinned.

Shizuri continued to stand there.

Her eyes went wide as she realized that she couldn't fire her beam of energy. After being momentarily surprised, she leapt away from the advancing menace and recomposed herself.

_It's alright. Even if I can't blast him, I'm still a Level 5_, she thought, _I have a wide repertoire of attacks still available_.

Then the attacker was gone.

She turned to her right and swung her arm of plasma.

"Oops!" the young man tumbled sideways, narrowly avoiding the blow. The arm easily burned a foot-wide line through the wall. "That was close!" And then the teleporter was gone again.

Mugino continued spinning, summoned her shield to her right arm and made a backhanded attack with it. Once again surprised, the teleporter dove backwards just in time to avoid losing his head.

"Hey, hey now. That's no fun," he complained from the floor. "How are you doing that?"  
"If you were a Level 5 you would know!" she told him. She then attempted to channel a chain explosion through the floor. Not particularly surprised, she found that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Clicking her tongue in frustration she thought to herself, _At least I can follow his teleportation within my AIM field_. _It's times like these that I wish it was more than a few feet, though_.

"I'll tell you why you can only use your shield if you tell me how you can keep track of me!" he offered from the floor with a smile.

"Just die, bastard!" Mugino roared as she charged at him.

He once again disappeared and Mugino turned to where she felt him moving. But he wasn't there.

"Huh?"

"Excuse me for this." Looking down in shock, Mugino saw him lying on the ground at her feet. He reached under her gown and grabbed her leg as she swung a haymaker towards his face.

The momentum from the punch had her tumbling as she fell through the air. The moon, stars, and lights around the house forced back the darkness and it barely registered that she was outside her home. As she flailed about she saw the teleporter, lighted by the moon, standing on the roof of her two story house. He had his hand held out in offering. With no powers other than her arm and her shield available to her, she had no way of stopping herself from continuing to fall. She wanted to take a shot at him out of spite as she fell past, yet she knew she wouldn't survive the landing. And so she reached out her hand and grabbed his.

It was dark again. Even though she still felt his hand in hers, Mugino continued to rotate in the air and move at the same speed. The teleporter tightened his grip on her arm and pressed in the opposite direction as the moment flung her forward. The result was a sickening crunch of bones as her arm was violently forced backwards and the ball joint in her shoulder broke. The action added a lateral movement to her fall, spinning her to her back as she hit the ground. Her skull bounced off the hardwood floor and the air left her lungs. She held onto consciousness, heaving for air, long enough for her to realize she was in the foyer of her house. At the very last moment she heard the teleporter address her. It wasn't until right before she woke up, a few days later in the hospital, that she understood what he had said.

"Sorry. I can't really do anything about direction or velocity."


	8. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"Oniiiiiiii! Oniiiiiii!"

Heaven Canceler could hear the screaming from the far end of the hall. He jogged down the passageway, white jacket flapping in the wind. He was flanked by pink-clad nurses, ready to assist if necessary. Turning into the room the doctor immediately saw two armed men standing beside the bed with guns leveled at the hysterical patient.

"Put those things away! It's just a panic attack, you fools!" Frog-face bellowed as he stepped in front of the two men and slapped the muzzles into the air.

"I'm sorry, sensei, but we have orders from the-" one of the two began to explain.

"This is a hospital! I won't have anyone making more work for me here!" The Doctor gave both of them a shove, "Get these two out of here!"

Three white-cloaked men stepped forward and pulled the militants from the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Musujime-san!" Heaven Canceler leaned over the restrained maiden and spoke urgently, but softly. "Please calm down! There's nothing to be afraid of!" He placed a hand on her forehead. "Slow down and take deep breaths."

_**Arms wrapped tightly around her. From behind.**_

_**A familiar, nostalgic scent.**_

_**On her balcony. Nights ago.**_

Musujime Awaki slowly stopped struggling and began to breathe regularly.

"That's a good girl. Just like that."

"Onii… Onii…" she continued to mutter.

"Onii?" Heaven Canceler frowned. There was something odd about the way she was intoning the word. Something…

_**His cheek touched hers.**_

_**How long had it been?**_

_**Like this. Always behind her.**_

_**Watching over her shoulder.**_

"Onii…" The doctor muttered to himself. "Onii-san? Impossible…"

"Excuse me, sensei?" a nurse bent over to hear what her superior was saying.

"He died years ago. I was there to pronounce him dead."

"_**Onee-chan," he whispered softly into her ear. She felt a tear slide down his cheek and onto hers. "I'm back."**_

"Onii-chan!" Awaki suddenly cried.

Old frog-face leapt up from where he knelt beside her and looked into her the face. Her eyes were focused and tears flowed freely from them.

"Welcome home!"

(***)

"Well, I'll be leaving first!" Takeki smiled at the doorway.

"Keep safe out there," Touma smiled back and waved from the table.

It had been a great morning. Not only did he have nothing to fear with no female in the house, but Takeki had gone out of his way to make breakfast. Evidently the boarder had gone out to the convenience store early and gathered fresh ingredients. It was the first time that Touma had awakened to a well prepared breakfast. In retrospect, this was probably his reward for all his good deeds. He was looking forward to Takeki being in town a bit longer.

Takeki had taken a step down the hall when the neighboring door opened. Motoharu yawned and stepped into the sunlight. The two looked each other over. Tsuchimikado was dressed leisurely, as always; the top buttons of his Hawaiian shirt were left unbuttoned and his school bag was slung over his shoulder. In comparison, Takeki was dressed very formally with a white collared shirt tucked into pleated slacks.

Motoharu could practically hear a "nipaa~" as Takeki smiled brightly, said "good morning," and bowed.

Takeki continued strolling past the man, whose gaze slowly turned fierce. Before Musujime could move out of reach Motoharu grabbed him by the collar, pulled him into the room, and slammed him into the wall. Takeki didn't make a single objection to the violence.

"What are you here for!?" Motoharu demanded, his characteristic cool far removed from him.

"Ummm…," Takeki shrunk away from the attacker as best as he could, looking like he might start crying, "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't give me that crap, Mage Slayer!" Motoharu shouted. He grabbed Takeki's hair and yanked on it.

Musujime Takeki's hair was the only thing that remained. The rest of his body was gone.

"You filthy bastard," Takeki's disembodied voice rumbled like thunder.

Motoharu's head was crushed against the wall. His glasses splintered in his face, piercing into it. His hand holding the hair was gripped and torqued into a wristlock. The action caused him to instantly drop the wig. The unseen assailant bent Motoharu's wrist further, distracting him momentarily while the attacker removed his hand from the young man's head and forced an elbow sharply into his shoulder. Pinning Tsuchimikado to the wall with his elbow, Takeki used the same hand and the wristlock to turn the threatened arm into an arm bar.

"I killed the last person that touched my hair," the well-mannered young man informed the thug. That being said, Takeki pulled the arm back and struck forward with his elbow. Tsuchimikado grunted as his arm snapped and then he crumpled to the floor. "Consider yourself fortunate that I'm not allowed to kill you," Mage Slayer uttered darkly, picking the wig off the floor gingerly.

Motoharu, gritting his teeth in pain, looked up at the living legend. He saw what few other humans on earth have seen. A scar arced around the left side of Takeki's bald head. It was deep, but clean and perfectly made. Super imposed across his entire skull was a glowing, red rune. It was a rune so complex that Motoharu couldn't even begin to decipher it. The glow from it cast shadows across the young man's face, making him seem older and well worn. The mix of these shadows with the red glow left an overall menacing and slightly demonic impression. Before Tsuchimikado could look at the rune in more detail Takeki donned his wig.

"Thank our Heavenly Father for granting you fast healing," the Mage Slayer commanded as he bent down to pick up the glasses he had lost in the scuffle and place them in his shirt pocket.

"Just 'cause I'm part of Necessarius doesn't mean I'm catholic," Motoharu spat. "Tell me, is it you who is attacking the Level 5's?"

Takeki leaned back against the opposing wall, pressing the sole of one foot against it. "Yep."

"Were you told who to attack?" Shards of glass began to plink against the ground as they fell from Tsuchimikado's face. He had stopped bleeding and the skin was starting to knit itself back together.

"Nope, the church didn't tell me anything about my targets. I'm just here to defeat every Level 5 in the city." The air around Takeki was completely different now. He radiated power and pride even though his posture was relaxed.

"I assume you're staying with Kamijou-kun because you know about his faction."

"That's right," he replied easily.

"Then are you aware that one of those Level 5's that you attacked was the electromaster that's part of his group."

Musujime studied the boy with a sage-like scrutiny. "I thought she was a wind mage at first. Even so I wasn't sure if the rumors were true."

Motoharu nodded. His elbow began reconstructing itself which caused an annoying, tingling feeling. In response he began massage it firmly despite the pain. "You probably saw her steel sand field. Though it looks like a wind spell she's actually using magnetism to manipulate it."

Takeki scowled and looked at the ground. "I'll go apologize to her and _hope_ the Church doesn't find out." He gave the injured middle schooler a meaningful look.

"Don't worry, I won't tell them." Motoharu paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "They don't expect you to come back, do they?"

A wry smile pulled at Musujime's lips. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"No information prepared before hand, no contacts once you enter the city, they didn't tell me or anyone else on the inside that you were coming… What would prompt you to take a job like this?"

The small smile disappeared. "Something more valuable than all the Church's assets."

"Such as?"

Takeki glared down at him. "You have some nerve prying like that."

"But of course," Tsuchimikado began grinning, "you can't kill me, nya."

The pain was gone and with it was any fear that he had.

Takeki suppressed his indignation. "That's all the information you will get," he raised his chin and stared down into Motoharu eyes, "Fallere825."

"Ooh, mage name, nya!" the boy cooed mockingly. "Getting serious now, nya?"

Takeki ignored his taunts. "Where do I find the rest of the Level 5's?"

Understanding that the Mage Slayer wasn't going to be baited anymore, Tsuchimikado began relinquishing information. "Let's see-nya. Two nights ago were Rank 2 and Rank 3. Were there anymore last night nya?" As he spoke he got up and walked over to his closet.

"I took care of the leader of ITEM last night."

"Good job then, nya." He slid the door to the closet open and began rummaging around inside. "You did me a favor, nya."

"Stop it with the nya's."

"I can't help it, nya. It's my character," and with that his head emerged from the storage area. His grin was bigger than ever and he was wearing a new pair of shades.

Takeki sighed and rubbed his temples with his right hand. "So… Who's left?"

"That would leave Rank 5, the Queen. I'm not exactly sure where her dorm is, but you can find her at Tokiwadai during the school day, nya. Then Sogiita Gunha, Rank 7, will be a pain to track down, nya. I'll look into it, but chances are you're just going to have to ask around on the street until you finally find him, nya."

After a moment of anticipation, Takeki continued.

"ITEM's leader was either 4 or 6, so there should still be one more."

"You can give up on that one, nya." Tsuchimikado shook his head. "Not even I know anything about the Rank 6, nya."

Musujime stood silently for a while. "Well," he exhaled at length, straightened his posture, and began smoothing out his uniform, "I suppose there's nothing I can do about that." He pulled his glasses out of his breast pocket and turned his innocent personality back on. "I look forward to working well with you in the future!" he beamed.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" the Onmyōji called as the Mage Slayer reached for the door handle.

"No, I'm not." There was a brief silence. Takeki knew that Motoharu would prompt him again if he didn't answer. "I plan to take my time killing him. He'll be the last one before I leave this city."


	9. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"I'll be right back, 'kay?" Saten assured Misaka as she closed the door.

Misaka had told Saten numerous times to go home. Her life was in no danger and she wasn't in any pain thanks to the advanced anesthetics. The only thing Misaka had to worry about was getting bored while she was confined to her hospital bed. Despite that Ruiko had insisted on staying with her.

Misaka sighed. _Well, while Saten-san's gone I may as well try persuading Kuroko to give it up_.

She reached towards the phone lying on the stand next to her bed. Her entire arm shook from the muscle destruction she had incurred saving herself from the fall. She found that she couldn't quite reach the phone because of the condition she was in. Taking a breath, she began manipulating the electrons in the air. She created a magnetic field and carefully moved the receiver to her cheek. Once in place, she channeled her consciousness through the telephone and opened a connection with Kuroko's cell.

After a few rings her kouhai picked up. "Shirai speaking."

"Hey Kuroko, it's me. Listen, I-"

"I'm glad to hear that you are awake, Onee-sama. How are your injuries?"

"Oh, I'm doing well. The hospital gave me some medication so nothing really hurts. But-"

Kuroko cut in again. "That's wonderful news, Onee-sama. I'm really happy that they're treating you well."

"Hey, Kuroko, I just-" Misaka knew full well what Shirai was doing and she was certain that Shirai knew what she was trying to tell her.

"Well, Onee-sama, I must return to work now. I hope you recover-"

Misaka decided it was time to get direct. "Knock it off Kuroko! I know you've been at this since yesterday! Just give it up and get some sleep!"

There was silence on the other end. Misaka knew that Shirai was biting her lip, torn within her loyalty to her senpai.

"I'm sorry, Onee-sama," she whispered, "but I can't just let him get away with this."

"Whatever happened to working together, Kuroko? You always scold me for jumping into things by myself, so why are you-"

"I'm not working alone. Uiharu is monitoring all security cameras in the 7th District and Konori-senpai is using her ability to patrol the streets. And it's not just our branch. The rest of Judgment as well as Anti Skill are on the lookout for him."

"Then there's no need for you to be pushing yourself, Kuroko," Mikoto urged, exasperated. "Go home and get some sleep; I can tell by your voice that you haven't gotten any!"

Shirai was deeply touched knowing that Misaka knew her that well. Unfortunately, the only thing those feelings fueled was the fire in her belly. "Onee-sama, I swear I'll be alright."

With that she hung up.

Mikoto let the phone fall from her shoulder and closed her eyes. With the shape she was in, there was nothing she could do to stop her. Uiharu was probably of the same opinion as Kuroko. She would have to call Konori-senpai next. Mikoto trusted that their senpai still had her head on straight.

Misaka experienced a familiar presence. Opening her eyes, she saw him seated in a chair in front of the window. He was leaning to his right side, head resting on his palm.

"If you've come back to finish the job you should have killed me the second you got into the room." She prepared to fire a bolt at the intruder.

"I definitely would have, so calm down," the Mage Slayer promised her.

Misaka ignored his advice and grabbed the plastic buzzer lying on her bed. "Try anything and I'll have Anti Skill here in moments."

"Doesn't that connect to the nurses' station?" Mage Slayer cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't think I can hijack this with my powers?"

He gave that some consideration before shrugging. "I really don't know. I guess I'll just assume it's true."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Takeki was staring intently at Misaka. Not at the remote in her hand, but deeply into her eyes.

A nervous feeling began bubbling up inside of Misaka. "What are you staring for?"

Takeki gave it a moment before answering. "Well, I guess you're kind of cute."

More silence.

"Wh-what!? What are you talking about?" Even coming from the enemy, Misaka couldn't help but blush a little.

"I thought it might just be because you're a Level 5, but maybe he likes you."

"Who does?"

Musujime grinned, "Your boyfriend."

"W-w-what!? I don't have a boyfriend!" The blush only rose higher.

"I remembered when I saw you. Aogami said 'brown haired ojou-sama.' You're from Tokiwadai, right?"

"I am but-"

"Well, that's really none of my business," Mage Slayer waved her argument away with his hand. "I just came here to apologize."

"Huh?"

"Attacking you was an accident. I was… given bad information."

Misaka gripped the buzzer tighter. He kept changing the conversation and it was frustrating her. And now he was saying sorry for what he had done to her. She gritted her teeth. "What the hell? You think you can get away with it just like that?"

"Not at all. I plan on making it up to you. And now I know how."

"Why are you even apologizing in the first place?" Misaka yelled. "Even if it's a mistake you could have just let it go. What makes me different from the other people you've attacked?"

"Obviously it's because you're part of the Faction."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Takeki's eyes lost focus. "Sounds like someone's coming. I'll be back later with a gift."

And he disappeared.

Misaka glared at the empty seat for a moment before exuding her frustration through a sigh. _It seems like conversations with teleporters always end like_.

Saten slid the door open and looked around. "Were you just talking to someone, Misaka-san?"

"Just an annoying teleporter," she replied, her eyes closed and head resting against her pillow.

"Shirai-san was here? How was she?" Saten asked quickly.

"It wasn't Kuroko."

"Ah, another friend of yours then?"

Mikoto thought about that for a moment. He seemed like he was honestly sorry, but he hadn't seemed dangerous at their first meeting, either. "I wonder."

(***)

Life was wonderful.

Touma was walking on air for the first time.

Since the previous evening everything had gone his way. He had left the house on time. He didn't have any arbitrary hindrances on the way to school. There had been no problems with his homework. Not only had Komoe-sensei _not_ interrupted the class to inquire as to how long Index would be staying at her house (and thus causing all sorts of unnecessary- though accurate- suspicions from his classmates) but she hadn't even mentioned it at all.

Perhaps saying that everything was going his way was inaccurate. Really, he was just leading a perfectly normal life.

Enjoying the warm afternoon sun on his way home, Touma was hailed by a familiar voice. It was Aogami, waving him over from the same maid café he had met Takeki in.

Yesterday, it was raining. Yesterday, he had been depressed and reluctant. Today… Today it was bright and warm, he smiled and he waved, and as he crossed the street there was a bounce to his step.

Entering the shop, he greeted the waitresses with a smile and was led to the same window booth they had occupied the day before. Seated there already were Takeki and Motoharu. Feeling like binging a little, he ordered a glass of lemonade and a mixed fruit parfait.

"We figured out Takeki-dono's preference," Aogami began. "He's a siscon!" Takeki blushed but didn't deny it. "He and the Sergeant here were comparing older sisters to younger sisters. Did you know that Takeki-dono has a twin sister?"

"Last night he said he had a sister, but he didn't mention it was a twin."

"Last night?"

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard. I'm letting Takeki-san stay with me while he's in town. But still, I would never have guessed that you felt that way about your sister."

"Ah, well-" Takeki began to say.

"He's not a full siscon, nya," Motoharu interrupted. "I'm still trying to convert him, nya."

"I see."

"I-I'm really close with my sister," Takeki explained. "And I love her. We've always been together after all. And… I'm not against being with her forever…"

"Then you should go for it, nya!" Motoharu declared.

"But! That isn't exactly normal, is it? If I were to do that people would-"

"Other people shouldn't be a barrier to your love, nya! If it's true love then it doesn't matter who you love, nya!"

"That's right!" Aogami confirmed. "Even if it's a loli or a milf!"

Takeki's eyes darted between the two of them before turning down towards the crumbs on his plate. He was thinking deeply about this.

Hoping to find him a way out, Touma began interrogating. "Do you have a girlfriend, Takeki-san?"

He looked up surprised, as if he had forgotten that Touma was at the table.

"Well, I can't say I do…" was his response.

"Are there any girls you like back home?"

"Not particularly…"

He was about to strike out. "Well then, what kind of girl do you like?"

Takeki thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I'd like a girlfriend who was friendly and rather talkative. I'm a good listener, so…"

"How about physical attributes?"

Musujime thought about that. "Well, I think black hair looks best on women."

"And what color hair does your sister have!?" Motoharu and Blue Hair chimed in together.

"Brown, like me," Takeki held some of his hair between his fingers. "We're twins after all."

Touma smirked as the two frowned in disappointment; Takeki had dodged a killing shot right there. Touma figured any other answers he got from Musujime would be faced with the same inquiries, so he stopped there.

Fortunately at that moment the waitress arrived with Touma's parfait. It created a break in the conversation and at least Aogami's focus was shifted to the maid as she walked away from the table. She was a petite girl, very pale with dirty blonde curls. She was dressed in a corresponding white gown with gold trim, its skirt barely hovering above the ground. Attached to her back was a pair of small angel wings.

Allowing just enough time, Touma changed the subject.

"So, did you find your sister's school?"

"Ah! Yes, I did, but it turns out that she wasn't there. One of her classmates said that she was in the hospital," the boy was very excited.

Touma wasn't sure how the young man could be excited about that, but he continued the conversation, "I see, is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Takeki replied with uncharacteristic haste, "but listen to this: I found out that the 2nd and 3rd Ranked Level 5's were attacked and are in the hospital, too."

"3rd Rank?" Touma's eyes widened. If he wasn't mistaken, the 3rd strongest ESPer in Academy City was…

"Yes! Can you believe someone defeated both Kakine Teitoko and Misaka Mikoto!?"

"Misaka from Toki-?" Touma began to ask.

"Wow, you know their names, nya?" Motoharu interjected. There was something in his grin that gave an edge to the statement. "They must be famous outside the city, too!"

"Ah, well, the people I heard it from told me their names. Like I said, I'm a good listener." He gave Motoharu a big smile. "But, anyway, I figure he must be really powerful. Do you think he's a Level 6? I mean, two Level 5's in a single night!"

"No way, nya," Tsuchimikado waved his hand. He smirked again as he theorized, "He probably ambushed them or something underhanded like that, nya. He just took them by surprise and got lucky. He's probably a total wuss, nya!"

Takeki's smile grew larger. "I suppose that's possible, too. Do you think you would be able to take down two Level 5's like that?"

"Maybe if-"

Contrary to his personality, Takeki cut off Motoharu, "Yeah, you're right. You can't help that you're a Level 0 with no real abilities to speak of."

Motoharu just smiled back, unfazed. "Yeah, guess I can't help that."

Ironically, Touma was thinking it was ironic that Musujime didn't know Tsuchimikado was a powerful Onmyouji.

"Do you know what hospital they're in?" Touma reentered the conversation.

"They're both at the same hospital as my sister," Takeki informed him. "I'm heading there after this; would you like to come with me?"

"Come to think of it," Aogami began, "Kami-yan's ojou-sama is from Tokiwadai, just like the Railgun. Don't tell me you met the Railgun there and have been working your charm on her!"

"What? Of cou-" Touma couldn't speak quickly enough.

"Kami-yan! I would have never thought you could be that smooth, nya!" Motoharu was slung an arm around Kamijou's neck. "I have new found respect for you, nya."

"I'm not-"

"Anybody can date down once in a while," Aogami continued, "but that's two middle schoolers in a row for you, Kami-yan! Now we _know_ what your preference is!"

"Kamijou-san isn't like that!" Takeki declared. The bishonen's defense of him made Touma smile.

"Hmmm?" Tsuchimikado redirected his attention to Musujime. "What makes you say that?"

"Um… Well…" Takeki lowered his eyes in thought, looking up at the others at intervals. "I'm sure that it's just because… he has a younger sister, he doesn't really notice the age difference as much!"

Any hope that Touma had of support from Takeki disappeared immediately.

"I didn't know had a little sister, Kami-yan," the devil's grin threatening to split Motoharu's face in two.

"I'm surrounded by siscons!" Blue Hair yelled, attracting stares from the other customers. "I'm going to have to adopt a little sister at this rate!"

Touma sighed, "Fukou da…"


	10. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

The sun was still well above the horizon when Touma and Takeki entered the reception area of the Hospital. It was a large area, polished white and gleaming with the promise of advanced, professional care for its patients.

"You really know the Railgun, Kamijou-san!?" Even though Takeki was a little taller than Touma, at that moment he seemed like a little kid looking up at Touma in wide-eyed wonder.

"Well, yeah."

"When did you meet her?"

Touma scratched his chin. "I don't really remember." Unfortunately, that answer was truer than Touma wished it was.

"Wow, so you've known her for a long time. Is that how you met your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend." Touma's voice was slightly on edge from the continued badgering.

"Don't tell me," Takeki began cautiously, "you really did dump your girlfriend for the Railgun?"

"I told you that's not true!"

Takeki shrunk back a bit, features dropping solemnly from the rebuke. "I see."

Touma sighed and tried to fix his mood as the two walked on in silence. He wasn't quite sure what was getting under his skin. Aogami and Motoharu always harassed him. It had never mattered before. Maybe it was because Takeki was the one insisting. Because it was Takeki, maybe Touma was taking it seriously for the first time. But what did that mean? Did that mean that Touma seriously considered Misaka as… Then what about Index?

Amidst all the other concepts and theories that were ricocheting off the walls of Touma's mind a stray thought came to his attention; it was entirely alien, novel, and yet had no basis.

_Was it Takeki himself that was the problem?_

Musujime stopped in front of a door. "I need to use the bathroom," he told Touma pointing at the stick-figure sign.

"Okay."

Touma sat down in a nearby chair. He stopped thinking- it wasn't getting him anywhere. Instead he leaned back and took in the view. Everyone around him was in a good mood. That there was so much happiness in a place that was supported by the sick and the grieving may have been an amusing paradox for some. Instead, Touma viewed the place as a haven that would exist even without pain and death. It was a place that sought out peace and healing not for monetary gain, but because it wanted to grant those things. Because, outside this sanctuary, the rest of the city was a duplicit façade of ingenuity and technology, masking the corruption and decay that lurked the side streets, back alleys, and street corners at night.

"Hey."

Touma turned his head. Standing there was a young man in a light, gray jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap. Under one arm he carried a gift-wrapped package.

He looked to the side and rubbed his jaw with his free hand. "I, uh, overheard your friend saying that you know the Railgun."

"That's right…" Touma confirmed. Given the package, he was pretty sure he knew where this was going.

"I'm a big fan of hers and I was wondering-"

"Sure, I'll give it to her," Touma sighed.

"Really? Thanks a lot!" The guys smiled and handed the box over to Touma.

Touma's stomach shuddered. There was something weird about that smile. "No problem," he slowly replied, suspicion lurking in his eyes.

Touma watched as the young man walked out the front door, pausing when it opened to turn and give him a little wave farewell. Once the fan was out of sight, Touma walked over to a trash can and took the wrapping off the package. It wasn't the bomb that Touma expected. Instead, it was a rather large frog plush doll. The packaging was labeled "Gekota!" and it had a gold "official merchandise" starburst-shaped emblem. It was still factory sealed.

While it was possibly a very elaborate trap, Touma decided he was just being paranoid. He wasn't sure why he had felt so strangely about the fan's smile, but it didn't really matter at this point. He would probably figure it out later on.

With a smirk he thought to himself, _I'll know I'm really losing it when I start practicing my baseball swings_.

"What's that?" Takeki asked.

"Huh?" Touma was pulled abruptly from his internal musings. "Oh, some fan of Biri-biri asked me to give it to her."

"Biri-biri?" Musujime brought his eyebrows together as he tried to understand.

"Oh, I mean Misaka-san."

"I see. So that's her nickname?"

"Well, that's what I call her, but I wouldn't suggest doing it unless you can dodge lightning."

Takeki cocked his head to the side. "You must be pretty close to her if she lets you call her that."

Touma was caught off guard by that observation, but quickly composed himself with a laugh. "Not at all," he shook his hand to wave the assumption away. "She's always trying to kill me. Every time she sees me she'll chase me until I stop running."

"Hmmmm…" Musujime hummed to himself. "Lots of people know of her and she has probably met lots of people. Just remembering you is pretty impressive, but she puts that much effort into it…"

Touma stared at Musujime. What was he saying? Since when was he so forward? Why was he-

"Well, I guess we should get going!" Takeki chirped, his patented smile on his face. "I'm not sure when visiting hours end."

Touma was at a loss for words. "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

They walked down long hallways for several minutes. Takeki changed the subject to school. He asked Touma all sorts of questions about the school's curriculum, about the power development process, and about other ESPers Touma had met. Touma indulged him with all the answers he could give, slowly settling back into his rhythm.

Approaching a nurse station Takeki took the initiative to ask directions. His natural charm and good looks got him directions without any further questions. Touma could only imagine what the experience would have been like if he were to ask.

Takeki held back as they approached the door, letting Touma take the priority. Touma knocked on the door.

"Come on in," came the reply. To Touma's surprise he was disappointed to confirm that Misaka was in the room. Evidently a part of him was hoping that Takeki had been wrong.

Touma opened the door and stepped inside.

"You!!!" Misaka cried out. Her arm was pointing at him and her eyes were wide. "What are you doing here?"

"Um… I heard a rumor that you were in the hospital and really didn't believe it…" Touma scratched the back of his head. "But here you are," he smiled and interjected a little laugh. "Looks like you really did get beat by someone other than me!" He continued to laugh awkwardly.

"You idiot!" Misaka snorted indignantly. "I've never actually lost to you. If you want to fight I'll-" electricity was already sparking from her head.

"Misaka-san!" A girl that Touma had never seen before put her hands on Misaka's shoulders. "Now now, he's just teasing you," Saten said gently. Misaka calmed down. "I'm Saten Ruiko. Nice to meet you," she gave a slight bow. "I see you're an acquaintance of Misaka-san."

"Ah, yeah. I'm Kamijou Touma. Nice to meet ya." Touma glanced behind him. "Hey, it's alright to come in."

Takeki kept his head low. "Um. I'm sorry for the intrusion. My name is Musujime Takeki. It is an honor to meet you." He bowed deeply as always.

"He wanted to meet you so I brought him along," Touma explained.

"I'm Misaka Mikoto. Nice to meet you," she gave a slight bow from her seat on the bed.

"I'll make some tea," Ruiko offered.

Mikoto slumped back in her bed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened the one closest to the visitors. After watching Touma and the shy man accompanying him for a moment, she bolted forward and stared with eyes wide.

"What's that!?"

"Huh?" Both Musujime and Kamijou jumped. Realizing what had caught Misaka's attention, Touma walked over to the bed and relinquished the box, "Oh, here."

Mikoto quickly snatched it up. "This is the super rare Gekota Max plush!" A cat's smile was spread across her lips as she chattered. "There's only, like, 50 being produced for the whole world and it's not even supposed to be out yet." She broke the factory seal with her nail and quickly yanked the doll from the case. She turned it over and spun it around, energetically examining it. She suddenly stopped and looked up, embarrassed. "Not that I'm into kiddie stuff like this!" Her entire face was red. "I-i-it's just that I know this is a super rare item and I'm kinda… surprised is all!" She then became indignant and turned her head away. "A-and what's with you bringing me a present? It's not like I expect you to bring me anything!"

"Oh, that's not from me," Touma smiled. "It's from one of your fans."

Misaka's heart unexpectedly plummeted. For a moment she felt like she might cry at the dissolution of her assumptions, but the feeling quickly turned to anger. "You idiot!" She yelled and hurled a pillow into Touma's face.

"Eh!? What's that for!?"

"Just shut up you idiot!" She shouted back, sending a bolt in Touma's direction.

At such a range Touma barely had time to react. "Hey! You shouldn't use your powers in a hospital!" he cried out as he stumbled backwards and slapped it away in time.

"Kamijou-san! Are you alright?" Takeki inquired, eyes darting between the two unsure of what he could possibly do in the situation.

"Misaka-san, you shouldn't be pushing yourself like that," Saten reminded her.

"Well if that idiot-!"

"What did I-?"

"Alright, alright. Let's all just relax and drink some tea," Saten declared, ending the argument. Stepping over to Takeki, who was the closest, she held out a cup. "Here's some tea."

"Thank you for the drink," he replied and took the cup from her.

As he did so, their hands touched. Takeki's heart skipped. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, at a complete loss for what to do. Noticing that he was staring, Saten tilted her head slightly.

"Yes?"

Her voice jumpstarted Takeki's mind and he reflexively drew back into his timid persona. "Uh, no, um…" he broke eye contact and looked down at his tea, an act that felt a lot more natural to him than it usually did. "Thank you for the drink," he repeated. He gave a slight, subconscious bow, rotated the cup in his hand, and sipped it. This seemed to amuse Saten a little.

Touma was seated against the window staring across the room uneasily at an unpleasant Mikoto. Saten served him first, receiving a quick "Thanks," and then crossed over to Misaka's bed where she sat down on the edge. Takeki took a seat by the door.

"So, it seems like Misaka-san and you get along rather well." Ruiko began the conversation.

"What are you saying, Saten-san!?" Misaka nearly spilled her coffee and the blush rose again. Touma, meanwhile, was having a coughing fit.

"Well, the only other person I've seen Misaka-san zap without hesitation is Shirai-san, her kohai."

Touma gave a little chuckle and raised his hands in uncertainty, "Well if Biri-biri shows her affection by zapping people, then she must be head-over-heels for me."

To Touma it was a pretty good joke.

The lightning bolt struck his hand with enough force to rock his chair backwards against the glass window. For a moment Touma was afraid that the window might shatter from the blow and send him toppling to the ground. Fortunately for him the windows in the hospital were an advanced, bullet-proof fiberglass.

"Oi oi! That was danagerous!"

Misaka ignored him, put on an air of superiority, and gave her hair a brush with the back of her hand. "If you thought I was head-over-heels for you then why didn't you bring me a get well gift?"

"But you just said-"

"You're a rather pathetic guy not to think of such a thing. And you run away from every fight you're in. Aren't you a man?"

_Oh boy, she's really mad_, Saten sighed with a half-smile at her mouth.

"Hey now, I don't have some super power like you," Touma said defensively. "I'm a Level 0 after all!"

"Oh will you stop lying about that! You have to be a Level 5 with all the stunts you pull!"

"I'm a Level 0," Ruiko chimed in. "I've never heard of a Level 0 with such a powerful psychic ability before."

Touma sighed and slumped forward, his head falling into his left hand. He scratched his head, unsure of how he could convince them he was a Level 0. As he was thinking he glanced at Takeki. The boy seemed transfixed on something- the tea in his hands was either well forgotten or already empty. Following his gaze, Touma found Saten at the other end. A list began falling into place in his head: black hair, good control over conversations, she seemed rather polite…

_Hmmm_. A plan was forming in Touma's head and a smile crept over his face.

As he was plotting, Ruiko turned her attention to Takeki as well. "Do you have a power?"

Takeki jumped, his eyes locked on Ruiko's for a moment, and then he looked away again. His bashfulness was at full power. "I, uh, I do have a power…" Takeki blinked at his own statement.

He wasn't supposed to have a power.

"Really? What kind?" Saten asked with enthusiasm.

"Oh, um, well, it's not much. According to the tests I'm a Level 0, but I can stop people from reading my mind."

Takeki was appalled, but he hid it well. What was wrong with him? He had worked as a spy and assassin for years. His acting should be flawless. So why was he-

"That so?" Touma asked. "Then why aren't you staying in the city with your sister?"

"Oh well, it's not much of an ability, so my parents didn't want to continue paying for my tuition here."

"I suppose that's understandable," Touma nodded. He glanced at Misaka. "It's not like all of us can be wealthy enough to attend a school in the Garden District."

"Listen, you-" Mikoto began to retort, sparks escaping from her head before the words even did.

"But still," Saten redirected the conversation, "that's pretty amazing." She looked down at the hands holding her tea. "I can't do anything, after all," she whispered.

Takeki's heart broke with empathy. He didn't know why. He couldn't even begin to theorize. Logically speaking, she was just some random person with no importance to his mission. Why was he feeling so bad for her?

The words left his mouth without him commanding them, "Don't worry! I'm sure that you're just a late bloomer. They say the last sakura bud to bloom is the most beautiful!"

_What the hell?_ Takeki's eyes went wide. Everyone else's eyes were on him.

"Ah… I mean…" he blushed, which again was easier than it should have been, and looked down at his half-full tea cup.

As he kept an embarrassed facial expression up, his mind roared. His thoughts were a mix of panic and anger. _Don't tell me! Don't even tell me it finally happened!_

Touma was smiling as he mentally commented, _This is going to be easier than I thought_.

Touma broke the silence and made his move. "So, tomorrow's Sunday and I have a bunch of homework and housework to get done. It sucks because I was really hoping to show Takeki around town, but sadly I cannot!" He put his hands up in melodramatic defeat.

Misaka saw a connection to her own situation. "Is that so? Saten-san knows the streets really well. I bet she even knows where to find the best food!"

"Um, Misaka-san-" Ruiko started to object.

Touma wasn't going to let her. "Really? In that case would you mind showing Takeki-kun around for me, Saten-san? It would be a great help!"

"But Misaka-san is-"

"Oh, don't mind me, Saten-san!" Misaka reassured her. "You've done so much for me; you deserve to relax a little!"

"I haven't really-"

"You've been taking care of Biri-biri?" Touma asked.

"The whole time I've been in the hospital!" Mikoto informed him. There was no physical reaction to the nickname this time.

"Wow!" Touma exclaimed, awestruck. "That's so commendable!"

"It's not really," Saten blushed. "Misaka-san has-"  
"If you're worried about Misaka-san, then leave it to me. I'll stop by tomorrow and make sure she's alright."

"Ah, well…"

Touma decided to seal it. "Thanks so much! You're a life saver!"

"Um, no it's…" Saten looked around the group, ending with Takeki.

He was blinking, unsure of what just happened. His lips moved, producing stunted words before he finally landed on, "I'll look forward to it."* He bowed but didn't take his eyes off of Saten's.

(***)

"So, did you enjoy it?"

Mage Slayer was standing in the corner, next to the curtains. The orange dawn was shining directly through the window, silhouetting what the shadows didn't already obscure.

By this point Misaka was neither surprised nor worried. She could tell that the mysterious man wasn't going to harm her anymore. She still didn't know what he wanted, though.

"Do you think I would be happy receiving stolen goods?" she turned her head away and sniffed obstinately, yet she didn't let go of the frog she was hugging.

Mage Slayer smiled for a moment, and then recomposed himself. "Well if you're worried about that, I purchased it properly. But it doesn't really matter to me if you like it or not." He gave Misaka a second to think about that before concluding, "I wanted to know if you enjoyed seeing your boyfriend, Migoto-dono**."

Misaka turned red from ear to ear. "H-he's not my boyfriend, geez! Where did you-"

"Migoto-dono," he interrupted.

"It's Mikoto!"

He stared at her sternly, "It is absolutely necessary that you continue to be on good terms with Kamijou Touma."

Misaka was taken aback for a moment. There was an intensity in his eyes and an undeniable urgency to his tone. She recovered herself quickly, donning the confidence and authority that came with her status as a Level 5.

"And why, may I ask, is that."

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Is that why you're here?" Misaka pressed the point.

"Yes," Takeki answered without hesitation. "I'm here to clear the way. My job is to ensure that everyone will be safe."

"You're making it safe by hurting people?" Misaka mocked. "What you're doing is terrorism."

"I don't expect you to understand, that's not your job."

"Then what is my job?"

"To protect Kamijou Touma with all the power you can possibly muster."

"Why?"

Mage Slayer shook his head. "We're going in circles," he sighed.

"And we'll keep going in circles until you tell me!" Misaka reassured him.

Takeki was no longer standing in the corner of the room. He landed on her bed with a slight thud, kneeling before her with his face inches from hers. This surprised her.

"If I told you what you were protecting him from," Takeki voice whispered to her gravely, "you may lose your will to continue living. Your mission is the most important, yet it is an honor that no one in the entire world would want. Take your days and your opponents one at a time and steel your resolve to protect your precious person. This is the only advice I can give you now."

Misaka was speechless as he sat back on his heels.

"I'll see you on the other side," he promised her before vanishing.

*- I'm using "yoroshiku" here, not "tanoshiminisuru". I couldn't really think of a good way of putting that in English.

**- Takeki is teasing her. Migoto means something along the lines of splendid or magnificent. One way of writing it uses the same character as Misaka's given name: 美


	11. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Mage Slayer appeared inside a dimly lit space. The lighting was ambient, seeming to radiate from everywhere despite the lack of light fixtures. It was a deep crimson and was wavering like an unseen flame around the area, casting shadows of mysterious shapes at odd angles.

The only discernable thing was a person, hanging in midair before Takeki. Her wrists were pressed together above her head, seeming to bear her entire weight. Instead of shackles, blue-bordered runes of white flame encircled her hands. They rotated around lazily as if conscious of the eternity that they may be serving. The figure was dressed in a simple hooded robe of earth-colored cotton, the hood up and concealing her face.

"Hey, Trash," Takeki addressed the woman, snidely. "I know you're awake. Raise your head."

She did as commanded and smiled under the hood. "I thought you would be in a better mood."

"Don't give me that crap!" Takeki's temper flared. "I should destroy you for that stunt you pulled!"

Musujime caught a glimpse of her eyes in the darkness of the hood. They were softened with pity. It was a sickening sight for him. "My only intent was to help the man I love."

Takeki was before her in an instant. His hand lashed out and slapped her with all the strength he could muster. The cowl fell. Her head was completely bald. Her brown eyes sat on dark, black and blue bags. Numerous scars crisscrossed her face. Despite the throbbing, red mark on her face, her eyes still held a humane compassion for her persecutor.

"How many times have I told you? You are a monster! A creature of abnormal origins! You don't understand love! It's just a word that you picked up and use to pretend to be human!" Takeki took a few long, sharp breaths through his teeth. Her sympathetic eyes wouldn't leave his. He couldn't stand to continue seeing them and turned around. "This is my body! You have no authority to use it! How did you?"

"The same way you tap into my power and my personality," she whispered, her eyes dropping.

"The spell must be getting weak," Takeki concluded. "You shouldn't have the strength to take control."

"The spell is still functioning efficiently. I can't force my will upon your body."

"That doesn't make any sense. You're lying."

"No," though he wasn't looking at her, she shook her head. "You _wanted_ me to help you."

"_What_?" Takeki gritted his teeth to bar in anger as he spun towards her.

"That girl, you fell for her."

"Stop talking," Takeki breathed.

"You wanted to convey your feelings to her."

"I said _shut up_." He kept control of his volume, but his words were smeared with bloodlust.

"I love you. And therefore helped you."

"Shut the hell up!" Takeki buried his fist in her gut, pitching her forward. Saliva and a throaty groan dripped from her mouth. Her eyes were wide open in pain. Takeki grabbed her chin and jerked it up so she could see his hate-filled eyes. "What did I just tell you? Love is not something you are capable of feeling. You were programmed with a borrowed personality. You are not able to form an original thought, let alone grasp such a human emotion like love."

She barely heard him over the pain.

(***)

Tsuchimikado hadn't been lying. Strangely enough, Gunha Sogiita was standing in the open under a street lamp. It was in a rundown district at an intersection of completely deserted streets. Takeki had watched him stand there for a full hour. According to Motoharu's informants the Level 5 had been standing there all day.

Takeki was sure that it was a trap.

Yet, at the same time, this was the clearest shot he would ever have at the Esper.

After seeing him stand there, nothing moving but Gunha's white jacket, Takeki searched each building on both streets. There was nothing. Everything was perfectly abandoned. No snipers. No booby traps. No runes. No security cameras. No robots. Nothing.

Takeki sat down against a moldy, brick wall. This was the last building he had to search on the four blocks that cornered the intersection. Silver moonlight painted a rectangle on the floor by his feet. He wished he had more information on Gunha. He had come to the conclusion that this was a challenge and not a trap. If so, Gunha had so much faith in his ability that he was willing to take a cheap shot before the battle started. In a fight between high level Espers, that was absurd.

Takeki teleported to another rooftop in the area. He had discovered several abandoned steel beams there earlier. He peaked over the edge of the roof to check on Gunha. The fighter hadn't moved an inch. Turning back to the beams, he laid his hands on them and closed his eyes.

A series of heavy crashes came from the intersection. He had sent all ten beams into Gunha's space. If Gunha hadn't moved his body should be torn up by the materials displacing it. Musujime walked back to the railing and looked towards the intersection.

His eyes went wide.

All ten of the girders were laying in a heap at Gunha's feet. The man hadn't even moved. Even now, he regarded the shafts with disinterest.

"Shit," Takeki cursed. This was going to be harder than he thought. If Gunha had at least dodged the beams Takeki would be happy. But he hadn't. The Level 5 was evidently immune to teleportation displacement. Takeki may be able to teleport Gunha himself, but he wouldn't be able to take him out from afar like he had Kakine.

Takeki teleported across the street to another rooftop and picked up a discarded lead pipe. He glanced back over the edge to make sure Gunha hadn't moved and then leapt off the side of the building. He let himself fall about five feet and all at once swung the pipe like an axe and teleported.

The pipe bent in half and rattled Takeki's arms. Even as his hands went numb and lost hold of the pipe his experience-honed instincts forced his will onto Sogiita. Even though his fingers throbbed he still smiled. It would certainly be difficult to get past that force field, but the battle was now on his terms. With that defense the Level 5 had given up all his attacks.

Takeki let his shoulders relax and put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Looking down his nose, he waited for Gunha to realize what had happened. That look of surprise, either in the form of fear or anger, when the "mighty" Level 5 realized he had no control over his power. At that moment Takeki would attack. He would take control of the flow of the fight and seize victory. He would-

Gunha turned, slowly, away and stared into space. After a moment he looked back to Mage Slayer and laxly straightened his posture, stepping away from the light pole in the process. Takeki's smile deepened in anticipation as the fighter slowly stepped back into a striking stance and began concentrating.

"Amazing-"

Sogiita thrust his fist forward.

"-Punch!"

Takeki flew backwards down the street, propelled by the force of a brick wall hitting him at high velocity. Reflexively he latched onto that technique. He hit the ground fifty feet away, tumbled backwards once, then as he went over the second time planted his feet on the ground and got his balance. He slid to a stop after another five feet and tried to catch his breath.

He was starting to understand why Level 5's were regarded much higher than Level 4's. Even in the midst of a battle he was revising his theories on them. There must be something he was overlooking that would explain why he wasn't shutting them down. Against both Kakine and Mugino he had theorized that the minds of Level 5's didn't register physical enhancements as a power. In those cases he had to manipulate another power. He didn't think that was the case with force fields because they were an external force even if they were limited to the body. Maybe Gunha was an anomaly in that sense; maybe his mind genuinely believed that the field was part of his body.

While that was viable, Takeki decided not to make any more assumptions; that last attack had hurt a good bit. The first order of business was to check if the field was still up. If it wasn't then that theory was debunked and he would be able to simply displace Gunha's body with whatever items he wanted. If it was still up this would be a long and drawn out fight.

Takeki spit blood from his mouth. He teleported to a stray, rusted trash can and made it disappear with a touch. It clunked to the ground at Gunha's feet.

Musujime gritted his teeth. This was a bad situation. He had to try to shatter that force field, or otherwise make Sogiita drop it for a moment, and sneak a shot in. He could do it with the spear, but that was always a last-ditch option.

Mage Slayer appeared behind Gunha and realized that the Level 5 had already begun spinning. Like the leader of ITEM, Gunha was able to sense his teleportations. He teleported again to the other side and began to swing his fist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gunha lift his foot and there was an impact against Takeki's stomach. He had tightened his abs in time and continued with the attack. The palm strike connected an inch away from Sogiita's third vertebrae. Noting the size of the field, Takeki fell into a boxer's stance and took a few quick and measured steps away.

Keeping light on his feet, Musujime waited for Gunha to attack. He was surprised by that rear kick and had barely prepared himself. All things considered Gunha was at least as learned in martial arts as Takeki was so he would have to be careful.

Rather than approaching Takeki, Gunha simply punched from where he was. Takeki scarcely remembered in time that Gunha could still fire telekinetic force and avoided it with his teleportation. The stray shot blew a hole in the building Takeki had been standing in front of. As Musujime reappeared he saw his opponent swinging the opposite fist forward and teleported again. Though Takeki was teleporting further and further away, Gunha was still able to keep track of his teleportation and continued to send Amazing Punches at the teleporter as soon as he reappeared. It wasn't until Musujime was a full block-and-a-half away that Sogiita finally lost track of him. Half the buildings on the street had been destroyed by Gunha's attacks.

Once he was out of range, Takeki took a moment to reevaluate his situation. He considered going back to Touma's apartment, but decided he wanted to get a better idea of Gunha's abilities. All the teleportation had sapped much of his strength, so he had to finish the fight up quick. He decided there was one last thing he wanted to know and teleported back to Sogiita.

Sogiita had sensed Takeki teleporting towards him and moved to face him. Takeki measured his teleportation to land just outside of punching range, keeping close enough to deter Gunha from using his telekinetic punch. As he appeared he threw a kick. Gunha didn't bother blocking, but instead moved his leg. Takeki felt a rib crack without seeing the kick that had done it and staggered backwards. His discipline brought his hands up defensively and tucked his chin. Gunha didn't attack right away, so Takeki advanced towards him. He saw Gunha's hand flash, but didn't see it actually connect. Pain flamed through the side that Gunha had previously kicked and Takeki dropped to his knee. Before Sogiita could get another strike in Takeki retreated.

He landed on Touma's balcony and peaked through the window. He was in luck and Touma didn't appear to be home. Teleporting inside, he went immediately to his duffle bag and unzippied it. At the bottom of the bag was a wooden chest. He retrieved it with a grunt and set it on the floor. The chest was roughly two feet square and a little over a foot tall. A rune was carved into the lid and colored with gold ink. Designs traveled from its end points and wrapped around the entire surface of the box. The chest was made of polished, lacquered white ash and devoid of any wear.

Takeki placed his hand on the rune and spoke the words "sanctus eternus." A ball of light appeared at the lip of the lid and slowly rotated around the perimeter of the chest. When it had made a full circuit the lid popped open and there was a flash before the room went dark again. Takeki reached inside the box and pulled out a coil of gray bones. The bones were a series of vertebrae, each one etched with dully pulsing Celtic runes. At the end was a barbed stinger that had been long stained red.

Takeki hesitated as he always did; lost in thought at the sight of the weapon. He was shaken from his stupor by the sound of keys at the front door. Before Touma got the door open Takeki was half way across town.

Musujime had his shoes off and was standing waist deep in the river that cut through Academy City. His left hand held the end of the strand of bones. The stinger was left floating down stream. Takeki's right hand crossed himself three times before hovering in front of his sternum, fully extended with the palm facing his left side where the length was dangling on the water. As he prayed in Latin the runes began to brighten. The vertebrae polished from gray to a pure white. The water slowly stiffened the cord, pulling each bone against the next with a click, forming an ordered line. Mage Slayer felt power surge through the spear as it neared completion and lifted it above his head as he chanted. As he finished his prayer he looked up at the weapon, a tingling fear tugging at the corners of his heart. The faint light of the moon gleamed against the bleached shaft and outlined the dark spearhead. He took a moment to think about what life meant to him, the meditation he always undertook before employing the weapon in combat.

Filling his lungs with a long and trembling breath, Takeki teleported back to that silent, ravaged district.

Gunha was still standing there as Takeki expected. He didn't give the Level 5 a chance to turn around. He teleported to the fighter and thrust the spear with his left hand. Gunha took a step, ignoring the spear, and brought his left arm around for a hook. Takeki raised his right elbow and blocked the blow. The spear struck Gunha's telekinetic field and sparks flew. The barbed point shook against the air for a moment, and then went through the barrier and glanced off of Sogiita's shoulder. It ripped through the jacket as if it was a light veil and tore away some of the flesh.

Gunha gritted his teeth and Takeki, despite his now-injured forearm, grinned. He teleported again and struck immediately. Gunha sidestepped the spear and made to punch. Takeki disappeared before Gunha could do so and reappeared behind him. As soon as he did, he vanished again, teleporting to his previous location as Sogiita turned. Takeki struck while his opponent was turning. Gunha reflexively summersaulted forward, the spear sailing over his head. Takeki teleported to where Gunha was rolling and brought the butt of the spear down. Not threatened by the blunt end, Sogiita used the momentum of the roll to launch himself off of his feat in a flying uppercut. The spear pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him from getting closer to the Mage Slayer, but he sent gathered his strength and sent a blast of telekinesis into Takeki's stomach. Takeki flew backwards through the air and landed on his side.

He was staggered and used the spear to get himself back up to his feet. He was breathing heavily and there was a scrape under his eye from the landing. Gunha used the opportunity to send an Amazing Punch down the street at his enemy.

Takeki grinned like a devil.

In one fluid motion he turned and raised his bare foot like he was kicking an opponent Gunha couldn't see. As the punch struck Takeki in the back he rested the spear between his toes. At the moment that the punch threw him forward, Mage Slayer put his power to task one last time.

The spear punched through Gunha's back and into his heart. Takeki, affected by the momentum just as much as the weapon, crashed into Gunha and the two went tumbling down the street. After a moment of labored breath, Takeki wearily got to his feet smiling. He walked over to the defeated Esper and grabbed the spear sticking from his back. He used his power to remove it- extracting it manually was nearly impossible- and using the spear as a third leg managed to garner enough strength to flip the dead body over.

The dead body smiled up at him.

Horror filled every bit of Takeki's being. His body rattled uncontrollably. He let go of the spear and stared. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. It took all his will power just to remain standing.

An eternity passed as what should have been a corpse grinned at him.

"Every artery in your body is pierced by barbs," Takeki whispered, as if trying to convince the body that it was dead. "Your heart is a sieve."

"What the hell are you?"


	12. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10**

A nondescript girl stepped out of an alley and stood over Gunha. She refrained from any emotion and wore a plain, white blouse and slacks with a stripe up each side. Her hair was a simple black and cut to mid length. She was thin and modestly developed.

A rather disappointing cohort, but her ability made all the difference.

"Did you read it properly?" Gunha inquired when she didn't say anything.

"Yes," she replied simply, turning to stare into the distance. "It's odd. Very odd."

"But you'll be able to track it, right?"

"Of course," Takitsubo Rikou replied. "I'll track him to the ends of the earth if it's necessary to take revenge for Mugino-senpai."

(***)

Something bumped into the front door, distracting Touma from the television. He waited to hear more and after a moment there came a weak, slow knocking. Standing up from the table, he moved to answer it.

"Who is it?" Touma asked as he reached for the handle.

He turned the knob and a weight from the other side pushed the door open. He stepped back to let it open and saw Takeki collapsing as the door stopped supporting him. Touma quickly reached out and caught him under the arms.

"Takeki?"

Touma turned the boy to his back and laid him on the floor. There was dry blood trailing from Takeki's lips and staining his chin. His dress shirt was unbuttoned and untucked. Beneath it Touma saw that Takeki's entire left side and stomach were covered in bruises. He also realized that Takeki had a full six-pack, but that didn't quite seem important at the moment.

Touma got a wash cloth and cleaned the blood from Takeki's face while he tried to wake him. When he had cleared away the blood and the young man hadn't stirred he hurried over to Takeki's bag for pajamas. On the far side of the bag Touma noticed a wooden chest. His eyes went wide as he recognized the marking on the lid as a rune.

_ Is Takeki…?_

Touma pushed the thought from his head. It had to be a coincidence. Takeki must have gotten the box from somewhere without knowing the significance of the symbol.

Rummaging around in the bag, Touma found the articles he was looking for and returned to Takeki's side. He removed the boy's shirt and stopped moving again. Takeki's right shoulder was covered in a bleached scar where the skin had been removed. There was a line of puckered flesh a good foot in length on his left breast where a deep laceration had been stitched closed long ago. Though not bulging with strength, his biceps and pectorals were laced tight with lean muscles like those of an Olympic track athlete.

Like this Takeki didn't seem to be a shy, innocent teenager. He looked like a soldier.

It didn't make sense to Touma. If Takeki was a magician, why hadn't he taken Index? Or, if he wasn't after Index, why hadn't he attacked Touma yet? They had slept in the same room together, he had been totally defenseless. Furthermore, he didn't think he was on bad terms with Necessarius, so there would be no need for Takeki to hide his identity from Touma if the church had sent him on other business.

The truth was that Touma _wanted_ to trust Takeki.

(***)

_Academy City is scary._

The words were in Takeki's own voice and echoed as they bounced off the dark corners of his dreams. The dream had yet to fully form and he hung powerless in the void. A numb feeling encompassed him and impressed dread upon his heart. He didn't like dreaming, and he could tell this would not be a pleasant one.

The dream came in the form of a memory. For whatever reason, his brain painted it in grayscale like ancient cinema. He was sitting on a rail. Facing him, Awaki was rocking slowly back and forth on a swing. They were fourteen. They had been in Academy City for two years already.

"That's amazing, Onee-chan!" the younger Takeki exclaimed.

Awaki blushed. "It's not so…"

"It really is! You're going to be a Level 5! Level 5's are super powerful!"

"They say I'm going to go into a special program, though." She dropped her head and stared blankly at the ground. Takeki understood the expression on her face. He got to his feet. "And if I go into a special program, that means-"

Awaki gave a start as hands appeared from behind her. Takeki's arms wrapped around her shoulders. He gently placed his chin on her shoulder and pressed his head against hers.

"Onii-chan…" she whispered as tears welled up. She understood what he was saying even if he didn't use words.

"You don't have to worry about it," he reassured her. "We'll always be together."

Awaki wrapped her fingers around Takeki's forearms and nuzzled her head into his arms. Her heart throbbed with joy and relief. Even if they were apart-

A cold wind swept through the playground. Takeki squinted and Awaki ducked her head into Takeki's embrace. As it subsided the twins looked up. Standing at the center of the grounds was a boy a couple years younger than they. He wore a simple long-sleeve shirt and cloth pants. His skin was blanched and his hair held no color. Looking into the child's red eyes Takeki perceived a tainted soul, deviously scheming something. He tightened his grip on his sister.

"Hey you. You're Musujime Awaki, right?" the child called out.

The two at the swings hesitated. "I am," Awaki confirmed.

The boy grinned and started laughing. "Gyahaha! So, you're the one everyone's talking about. You know what they're saying? They're saying that you may even be more powerful than me!"

"Who are you?" Takeki demanded, growing uneasy.

"Me? I don't have a name! They took it from me! Gyahaha!"

Takeki straightened his posture and pulled Awaki to her feet. "Let's go, it's almost dinner time."

"Just wait a second!" The boy called to their backs as they retreated.

There was a crash and a rattling sound and suddenly the boy had Takeki's arm. Takeki blinked and looked behind them. There was a cloud of dust in the spot the boy had just been and the rail Takeki had been sitting on was snapped clear in half. The swing and its chain landed in a pile a few feet in front of him.

"Please let go of my brother," Awaki requested cautiously. "We need to be getting home."

"Not until I find out how strong you are," the stranger grinned. "This is the first time anyone has ever threatened my position as the strongest."

The boy was suddenly not there anymore. He reappeared in the original place he had been standing. He was confused for a moment, then started laughing again.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of fighting you," Awaki told him as she pulled Takeki along.

"So you're that powerful! You're not even a Level 5 yet and you can already teleport me without touching me! That's interesting!"

The boy tapped his foot on the ground and came flying after the two. "They call me Accelerator! It's my desire to prove to everyone that I'm the most powerful being! And that means I have to defeat anyone that thinks they're even close!"

Awaki looked at him and he blinked out of existence. Takeki suddenly felt a searing pain in his back and tumbled forward, screaming. Awaki stood dumbfounded at the sight of Accelerator's hand embedded in her brother's back.

"How…" she tried whispering.

"Gyahahahahaha! I redirected your teleportation, that's how! I didn't even have to do anything special, you just teleported my fist right into his body!" His eyes were wild with excitement.

"No…" Awaki started breathing heavy and clawed at her face with her fingers. "No…"

"Want to see more of my power?" Accelerator jeered as he pulled his hand out of Takeki. "Watch this!" With just one hand Accelerator picked up Takeki and began swinging him in sporadic patterns over his head. He laughed maniacally the entire time.

"Stop it!" Awaki screamed and ran at the boy. Accelerator braced himself for her attack. Instead she grabbed the unconscious Takeki.

"Oh no, you don't," Accelerator swatted at Awaki.

The twins disappeared and reappeared a few feet away.

Accelerator grinned.

"Gyahaha. You didn't quite make it in time."

Awaki's eyes widened. There was blood staining her shirt. From her stomach to Accelerator's hand stretched-

…

There was darkness.

And Takeki's voice echoing again.

_ Academy City is scary._


	13. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11**

Pain began throbbing dully as Takeki left the world of his dreams. He let out a little moan and rolled to his side. He immediately regretted it as the pain flared and he returned to his back. He put a hand up to block out the sun that was sneaking through a part in the blinds and squinted his eyes open. The light was warm and comforting. It brought a peace to him that he couldn't have in his dreams.

His dream…

A part of it flashed back into his memory. Accelerator standing over him, laughing.

He sat up and clenched his fists. His morning dullness was gone. His heartbeat picked up. He couldn't fight against the fear that saturated his being while he dreamt. Now he retaliated in anger.

_That bastard. I'll kill him. I don't care if he's the strongest, I'll find a way around his ability and kill him._

A mumbling noise came from outside Takeki's field of vision. He jerked his head to the side and saw Touma sitting up on the floor.

"Looks like you're finally up," Touma greeted him as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and yawned. "How are you feeling?"

The second Touma began speaking Takeki relaxed his body and buried all his anger deep beneath his adopted personality.

He smiled meekly and replied, "I'm feeling better, thank you." He turned and formally lowered his head to the bed he was sitting on. "I truly appreciate you giving me your bed to sleep on."

Touma smiled in return, "Don't mention it." His smile faltered a bit as his mind shifted focus to the questions that were burning in his chest. "What happened to you last night?"

Musujime could feel his eyes widen involuntarily at the mention of the previous night. "I accidentally wandered into a gang while I was walking around town." He softened his eyes and looked at the bed. Touma was about to say something when Takeki spoke up again. "But it's okay! I'm used to getting beat up for being an Esper!" The boy on the bed gave a strained smile.

The smile tore pity from Touma's heart. That may explain why Takeki was in such good shape. If he was constantly getting into fights he would have hardened his body while naïvely clinging to his childish spirit. That was good enough for Touma, who wanted to believe in Takeki.

"You were picked on for your powers? Aren't power users respected outside of Academy City?" His questions were perfunctory.

"Well, yes and no," Takeki answered, eyes fading into deep thought. "When I was in Japan I was a little popular. My power isn't anything amazing, but the fact that I had one gave me a little boost. But my parents moved to Europe as part of their job." He stopped and gathered his thoughts. "We lived in a little, rural village outside of London, in England. The town was deeply rooted in their customs- in religion."

The church. Touma already knew that they weren't particularly fond of Espers. Magic was created by those without power, Magicians, so that they could contend with those who had power, Espers.

"I don't really blame them for anything," Takeki continued. "I think they were just scared. There are a lot of psychics out there who can do things that humans probably shouldn't be able to do." His mind flashed involuntarily to Gunha and Accelerator, but he kept his composure. "I was one of the Espers who couldn't hurt them." Takeki's voice died to a whisper. "So they took all their fear out on me."

Touma felt bad. He felt really bad for questioning such an honest and gentle person. He had judged Takeki simply on how he looked. Takeki had given him no other reason to question his intentions. Quite the contrary, Takeki had even gone out of his way to stock Touma's fridge and had prepared him breakfast the day before.

As he kicked himself, Touma's eyes had wandered around the room. Eventually, they ended on the alarm clock by his bed. It was ten o'clock.

"Crap, I guess I should have called Saten-san and canceled for you. I'll make sure to explain it properly and apologize." Touma reached for the phone.

At the mention of Ruiko's name, Takeki's heart leapt and didn't come back down. It wasn't a feeling he was used to and it scared him a bit. But in his stomach, which filled quickly with butterfly wings, he knew it wasn't a bad feeling.

"No, wait!" he shouted before he even knew what he was saying. His body jerked around to get to his knees. He grunted and gripped his ribs, slumping his forehead to the bed in agony. _Yeah, those are definitely broken_, he confirmed.

Touma got quickly to his feet to assist him.

"You don't have to cancel," Takeki managed to get out despite the pain. "You went through… all the trouble of…"

Touma ducked under Takeki's right side and carefully helped him get his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'll be alright. I can't just… She's waiting…"

Touma grinned. He understood how important this must be to Takeki. And even if Takeki didn't know that Touma had unjustly suspected him of being a magician, Touma still felt he owed him something in return.

"You better hurry, then. You're already late!"

Takeki blinked at Touma. Then gave him one of his prize-winning smiles. "Yeah!"

(***)

Takeki was at the meet up location as soon as he had gotten around the block from Touma's apartment. That made him about fifteen minutes less tardy than Touma thought the boy would be; just ten minutes late all said and done.

As he rounded the corner of the ally he saw Ruiko jogging up to the fountain. He stepped back into the shadows and watched her. She was out of breath and spun around quickly, evidently looking for him. When she didn't see him in the vicinity she sighed and plopped down onto a bench. Takeki stared at her for a few more moments. When he snapped out of his stupor he realized that he was smiling. He quickly neutralized the expression and walked purposefully towards the girl. He would have run to make it look better, but he would end up wincing and limping and that would have given away his injury. Which was something he absolutely didn't want her to find out about.

"Sorry, I'm late!" he called as he neared her. "Did you wait long?"

"Not at all. I was late, too!" she replied, smiling.

After a moment Takeki caught himself staring again. "Oh, um, so…" he stuttered, quickly looking around.

"Well, then," Saten stretched, a movement that distracted Takeki again. "Guess we should get going, huh?"

"S-sure!" Takeki began surveying the area instead of Saten. "Where are we going?"

"I figured we would hit the Game Center first."

Takeki blinked. "The… Game Center?"

"Sure, it's lots of fun. They have a whole bunch of different games and everything is just one coin!"

Takeki wasn't quite expecting that one. "Okay…"

They walked a few blocks and entered the squat building. The colors from the various lights and video screens distorted Takeki's vision as it attempted to adjust to the indoor lights. He squinted a couple times as he followed Saten, who didn't seem to be affected by the change in lighting, to the first arcade machine.

"I've always wanted to try this one, but I don't think Uiharu would want to. Here's a coin. It's a head-to-head game so go to the machine on the other side of this one."

Takeki looked down at the coin, then back up at Ruiko, and then walked to the machine she indicated. As soon as he was out of sight from where she sat he let out a pent up sigh. He didn't have any real interest in video games and had rarely ever played them. He at least understood how they worked- that you used the lever to move the virtual character around and then used the other buttons to make it interact- but he had a bad feeling that his performance was going to be a rather disappointing.

He looked up at the title of the machine. _Gekisho 9, huh?_ he wondered to himself. _What is that supposed to mean?_

He slipped his coin into the machine and picked the character he felt looked most powerful. As the game started he noticed that the title above the enemy's name was "computer."

_Crap, looks like I messed something up_. He started feeling embarrassed for some reason. Logically, it wasn't like he should know any better. But emotionally he felt that he should have at least appeared more competent.

"Ok, are you ready?" called a voice form above him. He looked up in surprise and saw Ruiko peaking over the top of the machine. She pulled herself up onto his machine so she could see his screen. "Ah! You already started! You should have told me!"

Takeki tried to smile. "Um… Saten-san, should you really be-"

She had already disappeared back over to her side.

Suddenly there was a clashing of metal and Takeki looked down to see the words "New Challenger" spread across the screen.

The screen went black and then his character was back. He noted that the red bar at the top had been refilled and the opposing character was different.

"Alright," came Ruiko's voice, "I'm not going to hold back, 'kay?"

Takeki began jerking the joystick around and noticed, to his frustration, that no matter how quickly he moved it or how hard he slammed it to one side his fighter's speed would not change. The character moved the same speed regardless of what direction he was moving or what Takeki did with the controls. He also noticed that when he made it jump, it always jumped in the same motion and for the same duration.

"Isn't that a bit… boring? Shouldn't this be a little more realistic?" he murmured to himself.

And then, at the last moment, he realized that his champion's red bar was falling every time the enemy struck him. With this revelation his fighter fell to the ground and the opponent gave a victory pose. A red circle at the end of the Saten's life bar filled in, the screen went blank, and then both combatants returned to their original positions and the match began anew. His character showed no signs of fatigue or injury, which Musujime readily attributed to magic. This time he wasted no time on experimenting with the controls and began jamming the attack buttons as soon as he was within striking range. Ruiko's character blocked the first two. The action surprised Takeki at first, but when he saw that she was still taking a small amount of damage it motivated him to press the attack. He began mumbling orders to the character which the virtual combatant carried out to the best of its programming.

"There! Keep your hook sharp. " Takeki coached the fighter. "You don't need to bring it out so far. Now kick her lead leg as she steps up! You need to kick faster and return to a neutral position! If you take that long to get set you're leaving yourself open to a counter attack!"

It was loud in the game center, but Saten's character reacted as if she heard him. As his character lazily missed with a second kick hers stepped quickly up to him and uppercutted him.

"See! That's what I'm trying to tell you!"

The character took a kick while he was on the ground and then returned to his feet. Despite the viscous strikes he had taken, Takeki's sprite chose to ignore his advice and continued with his clumsy attacks.

_ This is what happens when people become too reliant on magic to fix them up_, Musujime ground his teeth.

His character was dispatched soon after and the words "You Lose" came up on the screen.

"Serves you right, weakling," Takeki muttered under his breath.

"Did you let me win?"  
Takeki looked up to the top of the machine again. This time she wasn't there. Catching movement from the corner of his eye he snapped his head to his right and was staring right at Saten's chest. He gave a cry of surprise and jerked away from her, shifting his focus to her eyes. She didn't appear especially pleased.

"Even if this was my first time playing you should have given it your best shot," she scowled.

Takeki blushed. "Oh, no, I didn't. Um." A small corner of his mind wanted very, very badly to explain to her that his fighter was unmotivated and that he had tried his best to coach the slouch through the match, but his higher mental functions decided to take the blame. "I'm not very good at fighting games." He looked down at the floor, dejected.

"Oh, you should have said so!" Saten said, suddenly in higher spirits. "Come on, then. I know a really fun game that you might be good at." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up from the seat. He was thankful that she didn't see him wince.

Within moments Saten had a boxing glove on and was facing Takeki. His eyes widened. He really didn't want to fight Saten but at the same time she had seemed really upset when she thought that he had gone light on her. So long as she wasn't very experienced, he could probably make it seem like he was doing his best and just wear her down until she quit herself.

"Okay," she chimed, "don't get intimidated or anything. I happen to hold the high score for this machine," she gave a haughty grin.

"Understood," Takeki accepted. He wasn't sure how a machine could grade one's fighting abilities, but-

In a flash Saten pulled her fist back and swung with all her might.

Takeki brought his arms up and tucked his chin defensively. He made sure to carefully regulate his adrenaline so he didn't accidentally hurt her when he began his attack.

There was a thud and then a barrage of bells and buzzers. Takeki retained his orthodox stance for a moment before letting it fall. Saten had spun in mid strike and struck a red pad attached to a metal arm. The punch had knocked it back a foot and the lights on the machine had begun flashing as the sirens wailed.

_ Oh…_

"Haha, that's what I get for being fancy," Ruiko laughed off the low score. "Oh well, you still won't beat my high score." She slipped the glove off and handed it to him. "Go ahead, give it your best shot!"

Takeki equipped the glove and squared off to the machine. He didn't intend to give it his all. Well, he _hadn't_ intended to give it his all. But as he cocked his hand back he glanced at Saten and felt a pressure on his chest. Something in him took over and channeled all his strength into the punch. The pad shot backwards in a blink and the machine rattled. The alarms on the machine went crazy and every light on the machine strobed. A small display on the back wall of the box displayed "New High Score" and listed a number nearly 300 points higher than the previous.

Saten stood there, face completely blank. Takeki's heart raced. That had been a mistake. She had been very proud of her high score and he had just taken it from her. What could he possibly say in this situation?

"Um..." Saten began to recover from the shock. "Well, I suppose that would happen! You're a guy after all. I don't know what I was thinking." She gave an awkward laugh.

And then Takeki realized that his ribs were burning. He hadn't noticed it with his mind in such a tumult, but now that the silence was broken he felt the pain surging through his side. He gritted his teeth and grabbed his side, his legs growing weak as he did so.

"Hey, are you alright?" Saten's eyes were wide and she reached for him.

"I-it's nothing," Takeki said quickly and tried to suppress the pain. "I hurt myself the other day and it's still a little sore."

Takeki couldn't say for sure how he expected her to respond, but upon seeing her reaction he immediately regretted telling her.

"I see, so you're injured and you still blew my score out of the water." Her eyes were draped with depression, her shoulders were lax, and she didn't look at him as she spoke.

"Oh, uh, no!" Takeki cried immediately, trying to remedy the situation. "That was my best! I don't think I could do any better than that! This isn't really a hinderance, so…!"

"Oh well," Ruiko sighed, probably not even hearing him, she put on a smile and returned her gaze to him, "Let's go get some tea."

"Sure!" Takeki agreed right away.

_ Tea is good_, he thought to himself. _There's no way I could possibly mess tea up._

They left the artificial lights of the game center and walked a few blocks to the tea shop Saten had chosen beforehand. The two got a small table under an umbrella on the red brick patio in front of the store. Saten ordered a cup of tea and Takeki ordered coffee. They made small talk for a few minutes while they waited for their drinks. The weather- the most comfortable topic for both of them- had been the topic at first. Just before their beverages arrived Takeki had shifted the focus to Academy City. He asked trivial questions to which Saten repeated facts that had been ingrained in her mind by the city's education system. Simple inquiries such as how many students lived in the city, how many districts there were, how young a student could be to enroll, what the average tuition was; questions that held no significance for either of them but let them enjoy chatting.

Eventually they both asked for refills to their drinks, causing a brief silence to ensue. In that silence the focus of their conversation shifted. Takeki could tell from the way that Saten glanced at him that she was going to start prying. Her hesitation suggested that she wasn't comfortable with asking, but she was curious nonetheless.

"I didn't notice until we started talking, but you have a small cut under your eye and you're face is a little bruised. You got beat up, right?"

Takeki searched her eyes over his coffee. He lowered his cup and his eyes followed. "Yeah." He left it at that for a time before deciding to expand upon it. "Pretty lame of me, huh?"

"No. It's not like it's your fault. It was because you don't have a strong power, right? I know there are gangs out there that prey on the low Levels." A deep-seated sadness covered her face. "I've seen it before."

Takeki understood that his enjoyable, meaningless banter was slowly being replaced with a more personal conversation. The part of his brain that thought like the Mage Slayer mourned the loss, but his deeper being wanted to talk about these things he feared. He thought about moving his chair next to hers, but he knew that would make her uncomfortable and kill the conversation. Instead he simply leaned forward, letting her see that she had his undivided attention.

"I love this city. It's always so lively and I've made lots of friends. I've even helped out Misaka-san and Judgment in the past. Sometimes, though, I'm scared. Just as there are good people in this city, there are also bad people. I'm invincible when I'm with my friends, but being a Level 0 there's not much I can do to protect myself. What if my friends don't show up one of these times?

"I… I have a pretty strong sense of justice and that has gotten me into trouble before," the time she had stood up to those Level Upper thugs came to mind. "My friends have always shown up in time, but that can't continue on forever. One of these times I'm going to stand up to a gang or a rogue Esper and no one is going to come to save me. I'll be there alone and-"

"I'll be there."

Takeki wasn't surprised this time. He felt those words resonating with his heart. It was the truth and he could say them without any unwanted assistance.

Saten didn't blink. She was shocked by the boy's straightforwardness. As she recovered the blush rose in her cheeks and her mind began reeling.

"I, uh, think it's time we moved on to the next place," she got to her feet, as if the physical distance would leave the conversation behind her. "I know this really good-"

Takeki grabbed her hand. He understood why he was compelled to do so. The logic in him sensed that he was moving the relationship along too quickly for Saten's comfort. But at that moment it didn't matter. He was being impulsive and felt it was the right thing to do.

"Give me your cellphone," he requested, speaking familiarly. Despite the emotional roil in his chest he kept his tone gentle and level. He looked deeply into her eyes and he could tell that there was probably a look of concern on his face.

"Why-"

"_Please_," he emphasized.

Saten reached her free hand into her pocket and retrieved the cellphone. Takeki took his eyes from hers just long enough to push a few buttons. He closed the phone and pressed it into the hand he was holding.

"That's my cellphone number," he told her, returning his eyes to hers. "If you're ever in trouble, call me. I'll be there right away. I promise."

Saten broke his gaze to look at his hands. The entire situation was confusing. There was a lot of it that she couldn't really understand. She pulled one of the questions from the whirlwind in her head and spat it out, gritting her teeth. "Who do you think you are?"

The question caught Takeki worse than any of Gunha's punches had. His jaw dropped open and his grip loosened on Saten's hand. She slipped her hand quickly away and continued her verbal assault.

"I just met you yesterday and you're already acting like you're… you're my," she couldn't get the word to come out and gave up on it. "What makes you think you'll be there in time? What are you, some stalker?"

She spun and walked away. Takeki couldn't make his legs move. It wasn't that he didn't know what had gone wrong. He knew. He had simply wanted to know that she had felt the same as him. It meant so much to him to hear her voicing the same doubts as him. He had been that weak when he was younger.

He had felt so much despair after his sister had gone into the hospital. He was her emotional support and he couldn't comfort her. She had been his physical support and she couldn't protect him. Without her there to save him he had been bullied at school. He had gotten into trouble on the streets. He had only faced those problems for a few weeks, but he didn't want Saten to have to deal with them at all.

He had been hoping that she could sense that he understood her fears. That she understood he was of a kindred spirit. That maybe… maybe their similarities meant something more.


	14. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter 12**

To anyone else, it appeared that Takeki was trying to analyze his sundae. In actuality, he had forgotten about the dessert completely and was lost deep in his own head. He was so frustrated that he wanted to hit something. He was so depressed that he wanted to cry. And he was so mystified that he couldn't help but sit there and do nothing.

_ I can't believe I said those things. What was I thinking? I knew she would react that way. Well, maybe not quite like that. Either way I knew what I was getting into._

_ But still, what else was I going to do? What if I was wrong? What if she was speaking openly because she wanted me to comfort her? Despite what I think I couldn't possibly have known for sure at the time._

_ Still, I overstepped my position. I should have let her break off the conversation. Instead I pressed her. I spoke to her so arrogantly. What the hell was I thinking? I'm not going to be in this city much longer. Honestly, what was I going to do? Take her with me?_

_ Well, that's not such a bad idea._

_ But there's no way she would have done that. She said it herself, didn't she? She loves this city. She loves her friends. There's no way she would give up everything she has for some guy._

_ Not like I even have a chance now._

That thought ignited the anger in him, boiling away the murky depression. He wanted to put his arms around something and just squeeze it with all his strength. Just unleash all this pressure he was feeling in his chest- all this anger, all this grief- just scream and let it all go. But he couldn't.

_ That's right. It's over. To her I'm just some creep now. Some testosterone-driven, impulsive jerk. She was right, too. Who do I think I am? I really was acting like I was something to her. We had only met the other day. There was nothing between us. Everything she said was true._

_ "I'll be there in time?" Ha! Even if I knew her exact location I probably wouldn't make it. I would show up moments too late and be completely useless. I would be absolutely worthless yet again and I would look at her, all bloody. Just like Onee-chan. How could I possibly live with myself after that?_

The anger slowly ebbed away. He felt bitterness tainting the tears that welled at his eyes.

"There's no point crying over a melted sundae, nya."

Takeki whipped his head up and saw Tsuchimikado sitting in the seat across from him. His smile said that he was enjoying the view.

Musujime's self-loathing found a new target as he glared at Tsuchimikado; flames nearly scorched through his corneas. He quickly wiped the tears away with his sleeve.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"That banana split if you're not going to eat it, nya," Motoharu returned, fearless arrogance exuding from him.

He reached for the spoon. Before he could grab it, Takeki scooped his arm around the sundae and pulled it towards him, huddling over it like a dog defending its food dish.

Motoharu sighed and put his hands up, "Oh well. Hey, relax a little. You're looking like some suspicious person. If I didn't know any better I would think you were the one perpetrating all those assaults on the Level 5's."

Takeki had no intention of obeying the onmyouji but a waitress appeared abruptly from behind him. Startled, Musujime put on a smile and ate his dessert while the mahou shoujo-esqe maid took Tsuchimikado's order. Rather than fear another surprise from the magically-appearing maid, Takeki continued with his congenial charade.

"Do you have any more information for me?" Takeki inquired without looking up from his slowly-disappearing ice cream.

"I wonder how many people have seen the Mage Slayer cry before, nya."

"Keep it up and you'll be wondering how many breaths you can take with your head imbedded in concrete."

Motoharu just grinned. "Seems that The Queen has been taken off of the streets, nya. She hasn't been to school and she hasn't returned to her room since the attack on Mugino, nya."

"So where would I find her?"

"How should I know, nya? Chances are she's been taken into protective custody by Anti-Skill. Worst case scenario she's under the protection of one of the city's secret organizations, nya. And not like ITEM or GROUP. We're talking one of the Board of Directors' military groups, nya. Well, worst case scenario, anyway."

The maid returned with a glass of water and a banana split and placed them in front of a smiling Motoharu. After she left Takeki continued the conversation.

"It's all the same either way. I was planning to go after Accelerator today."

"Ooh. And why's that, nya?"

Takeki glowered at him for prying. "Because I'm in a bad mood, that's all."

"_And_ because you're in bad shape, nya?"

Takeki narrowed his eyes. "So you were watching?"

"Not at all. I don't have the time right now for entertainment, nya. Our good friend was concerned about you and mentioned it to me, nya."

Takeki let out a breath. If it was Kamijou, he wasn't going to hold it against him.

"So, what research facility do I find Accelerator in?"

Tsuchimikado laughed. "You really haven't been around in a long time, nya. They let him out of the lab years ago. Up until a while ago he was living out of a cheap apartment, nya."

"They let that _thing_ out? What were they thinking?"

"Oh, don't worry. For whatever reason he calmed down a bit, nya. He only killed thugs that attacked him and some experimental targets. Believe it or not," Motoharu gave a dramatic pause, "he was actually defeated, nya."

All the energy left Takeki's limbs. He lost his hold on his spoon and it clattered into the glass dish. His eyes lost their edge and his facial muscles loosened. He had been beaten to the kill. What would he do now? His revenge on Accelerator was one of the driving forces in his life. There were others, sure, but Accelerator had been at the top. And suddenly the pinnacle was gone. That couldn't be possible.

"Who?" Takeki whispered.

"Huh? I can't hear you, nya."

"Who beat him?" Takeki didn't speak any louder, but Tsuchimikado responded nonetheless.

"_Our good friend_, nya."

Musujime's eyes were the size of moons. His heart stopped beating; his stomach dropped out; his skin grew clammy. He had heard that Touma had a powerful ability. But he hadn't realized just how powerful it must be. To be able to defeat Accelerator, a seemingly invincible Esper, it had to be godly. And Takeki had been staying in his house. He had been lying to this god from the very moment he met him. What if Touma knew already? What if he was just going along with it because he didn't consider anyone a threat? If he was that powerful…

Takeki hadn't realized how violently he was shaking until Motoharu spoke.

"I know what you're thinking, nya. He's not that powerful. Think about it, would the Church leave him unattended like this if he was really that much of a threat, nya?"

Takeki looked at him, eyes still wide with fear. "But you're here, right?" His voice was weak and panicky. "Aren't you watching over him? Your room is right next door, after all."

"You know my mage name, nya. '_Backstabber_.' Do you really think the Church would put me in charge of something like that, nya?"

Musujime began to settle down. He gripped his hands together under the table in an attempt to stop the shaking. That was true. The Church wouldn't let Motoharu handle a bomb like that. The Church probably wouldn't have even let Touma continue living once they found out.

"Then how did he kill him?"

"'Kill?'" Motoharu scoffed. "When did I say 'kill nya?' He beat him, but all he hurt was Accelerator's pride, nya. Granted, another person managed to shoot Accelerator after that and put him into the hospital. But he's still alive, nya."

_Still alive_. Those words lifted Takeki's spirit. Accelerator was still alive. He could still have his revenge.

"What happened after he got shot? Is he still in the hospital?"

"Nah, he's out, though he goes back for checkups from time to time, nya. What I heard is that he's only an Esper from time to time. Evidently he has to switch it on, like a robot, nya. Even so, he's just as powerful as he was before when it's on, nya."

Takeki was getting excited. If that was right, he could beat him. "So where-"

Motoharu held up his hand and Musujime stopped talking. Someone other than their waitress stepped up to the table.

"I am Shirai of Judgment," she introduced herself and gave her armband a tug. "I noticed that you frequent this place."

"That's true…" Takeki replied slowly, all smiles.

The girl was short with twin tails. Her high-class speech heralded her social status just as readily as her Tokiwadai uniform. Though she held herself with authority, the bags under her eyes detracted from the overall image. She produced a photograph and held it up to them. The person featured was obscured by shadows, but both Takeki and Motoharu could tell who it was.

"Have you seen this person?" the girl questioned them.

"Wow, what an ugly guy, nya!" Motoharu cried out. "Don't you think, Takeki-kun?"

Too tired to be bothered by the exaggerated outburst Kuroko simply gave the boy a skewed glance.

"Well, I don't know if you can really tell from this photo. I think he might actually be pretty good looking," Takeki replied with a polite smile.

"Are you kidding, nya? Just look at that jacket!"

"What's wrong with the jacket?"

"No one wears those things anymore! Has he been living in a cloister?"

"A cloister?" Kuroko interjected, surprised by the choice of words.

"Back home in England that style is plenty normal!"

"England?" Kuroko turned her sleep-deprived face towards Takeki.

"He doesn't look like a foreigner, nya."

"That doesn't mean he isn't."

"Like you, nya?"

"Well, I'm not a real foreigner."

"So that could be you in the picture, nya?"

"What? I. Um. That person doesn't have any hair!"

"Maybe it's just stuffed under that beanie, nya."

"I can't stuff all this hair into a hat like that!" Takeki gave the hair by his shoulder a tug to indicate its length.

"Maybe that's a wig, nya."

"What do you want that person for, anyway?" Takeki broke the dialogue and looked up to Kuroko with a polite smile.

Shirai sighed and finally put the photo back away. "He was observed at the scene of a crime."

"What kind of crime?"

"I apologize, however I cannot disclose that information."

Motoharu turned back to Takeki and said, "I bet it was one of those attacks." He grinned as Kuroko jolted upright.

"What attacks?" Takeki ignorantly asked as obliged.

"You know: those attacks on the Level 5's." Kuroko's eyes bored into him. He ignored her and continued talking to Takeki. "I hear that whoever it is got Gunha last night."

"Oh, how scary." Takeki seemed genuinely frightened.

"How do you know about that?" Kuroko snapped.

"The attacks? Everyone has been talking about them, nya." Motoharu smirked at Shirai.

"No, about Gunha Sogiita," Kuroko narrowed her eyes.

"What can I say, nya? Word gets around quick."

She studied him for several moments and he simply continued smiled. Finally giving up, she turned from the table. "If you two should happen to see him, please contact Judgment or Antiskill immediately."

"Yes ma'am, nya," Motoharu drew the phrase out as an apathetic student would respond to his teacher. As soon as she was out the door he smirked again. "Oh, wait. Here he is."

Takeki couldn't help but chuckle in response. After a moment Takeki pointed down, still smiling.

"It's melting."


	15. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Takeki appeared inside the apartment's outer wall, just to the side of the window.

He didn't sneak and he didn't proceed cautiously. He was confident, much more confident than he had been while facing Gunha. He hadn't known what to expect against Gunha and didn't know of any weakness that the Level 5 possessed. That wasn't the case with Accelerator. Takeki understood how Accelerator's ability worked and had spent hours thinking about it. Not just the hours leading up to this confrontation. Whenever he woke up sweating and panting from his nightmares he would meditate on Accelerator's vector control. Knowing that Accelerator's power was explainable, knowing that it wasn't some divine secret, comforted him and helped calm him down. So long as Accelerator wasn't a god, he could be killed.

And now, best of all, Takeki knew how to perfectly seal Accelerator's psychic power. There was nothing that could stop him. He would finally have his revenge. After years of developing his body and abilities for others' agendas he would finally use them for his own benefit. Even if the Church had sent him here, this particular battle was his.

He had only taken a few steps before he heard a mumble from the couch.

"Shitty brat…"

He turned towards the voice and heard someone moving about on the couch. After a moment a white head rose above the couch back, the palm of one hand rubbing the sleep from its eyes.

"What are you-" the boy on the couch began to say before he realized he was speaking to a stranger.

…

Accelerator reached for the switch on the back of his neck immediately. Before he could touch it his arm was yanked away and a cold hand wrapped around the back of his neck. Even as he registered a sudden lightness above his shoulders his body got heavy. A chunk of metal and plastic landed on the ground a few feet from the couch. He recognized it, but couldn't think of the word for it. The hand that had been on his neck punched the back of his head. He experienced a moment of tunnel vision and collapsed forward onto the couch with an unintelligible curse. The assailant said something to him but he couldn't understand it. His brain functioned less in words than in concepts. Though he comprehended what had happened, he wouldn't be able to put it into words.

The MISAKA network hub and the battery that powered it had been removed from his head.

…

"Tell me, what's it like to be absolutely helpless?" Mage Slayer asked Accelerator. The albino met Takeki's eyes and grunted in a Neanderthal-like language. "Of course, that's a rhetorical question; I know the feeling very well."

Takeki put a hand on Accelerator, who frailly tried to swat it away. Before he could Takeki teleported both of them to the open area between the dining table and the couch. An amused smirk crossed Takeki's face as Accelerator, the most feared ESPer in the world, flailed ineffectively at the air and dropped from the roof to floor with a thud. Accelerator bit back the pain and looked up at the Mage Slayer in anger. Takeki smiled all the more and kicked him on the ground.

"Go ahead and keep up the tough guy act." He knelt down and yanked on Accelerator's hair. "It will be more satisfying when I break you, murderer."

Accelerator mumbled out something else that Takeki couldn't understand.

Behind the two of them came a metallic click. Takeki, like most people, was familiar with the sound and froze, raising his hands immediately and standing slowly. Yomikawa Aiho, dressed in nothing more than a bathrobe, had just chambered a round in her black, semi automatic handgun.

She gave him orders as she reached for the light switch. "Step away from-"

The intruder was suddenly no longer there. Buying himself just enough time to get to his feet, Mage Slayer had teleported immediately. Yomikawa tried to turn and protect herself but couldn't possibly react in time. Takeki's fist connected with her skull and bounced it off the wall next to where her finger held the switch. As the lights came on she crumpled to the floor. Takeki kicked the firearm away.

"Sorry, but you won't obstruct _my_ justice," he told the unconscious woman.

As he returned his attention to his task a small form shot from the darkened doorway of the bedroom. Surprised, Takeki watched the young girl spread her arms out in defense of the crippled boy. Looking her over he felt as if he had seen the girl before.

"Get out of here, kid," he uttered, filling his voice with foreboding authority. "That man is paying for his sins."

"No! MISAKA won't let you-" she began to protest.

"Silence! You don't know the crimes this person has committed! You don't know how many people he has hurt!"

"MISAKA knows, states MISAKA MISAKA."

Takeki blinked at the name and an image of Mikoto appeared in his head. It began shifting, growing younger.

_ A little sister?_

Tears started flowing down the little girl's cheeks. "Yes, he has killed many MISAKA sisters, MISAKA MISAKA admits. But he regrets it and he didn't want to do it! He even saved MISAKA's life! cries MISAKA MISAKA hoping you will understand."

_Misaka sisters?_ Takeki struggled with what she was saying. He thought about the situation for a moment, about how much the girl looked like Mikoto and about her odd speech pattern. After a moment an explanation occurred to him.

"You," he asked slowly, "you're a clone?"

"Yes I am, says MISAKA MISAKA though she is not sure what that has to do with the situation."

The Mage Slayer grinned and teleported to the girl, gripping her by the throat and easily lifting her petite body into the air. "And here I was afraid I might hurt a little girl. Lucky for me you're nothing but trash."

Mage Slayer felt hands on his leg. Looking down, he saw Accelerator trying to pull him off balance. On the surface the white-haired boy appeared to be angry, but Takeki read an emotion even deeper. It was one of frantic, slightly frightened, desperation. He felt a cruel satisfaction welling up in his chest.

"Really? You're attached to this _thing_?" he asked giving the struggling girl a violent shake. Accelerator's eyes widened for a moment before he renewed his feeble attempts to knock the Mage Slayer over. Takeki began laughing. "This day only gets better. Do you remember how you swung me around in front of my sister? Do you remember how you toyed with us as we ran away? Well guess what, I'm going to repay you that favor."

Accelerator roared in defiance and swung a fist between Takeki's legs. Takeki swung the girl into Accelerator before he could connect, eliciting a cry of pain from Last Order.

Gritting back the tears, the smallest of the MISAKAs called to the sprawled Level 5.

"It's alright, reassures MISAKA MISAKA despite her unfavorable situation. This time MISAKA will protect you, MISAKA-"

Takeki whipped a hand across the girl's mouth. "I don't recall giving you permission to speak, trash."

The clone was silent for a moment, and then smiled. "They're here, mutters MISA-"

Takeki ground his teeth together and pulled his hand back to strike her again.

…

The windows to the apartment shattered inward.

The door was broken down.

Into the room streamed a score of MISAKA Imoutos, answering the summons of Last Order.

They moved as one. They flowed with greater unison and with greater certainty than any Special Ops team had ever managed. Like water moving towards a drain they swirled towards Mage Slayer, the closest ones kneeling to grant a clear view to their compatriots and completing the allusion. The lights went out and were replaced by the glow of the Sisters' goggles, lighting the room the color of sea water.

"Shit," the intruder cursed under his breath, moving nothing but his eyes and keeping a firm hold on Last Order.

One of the Imoutos knelt by Yomikawa and tried to rouse her.

As this was happening Takeki made his move. He teleported behind the outer ring of Imoutos. An AIM field wasn't necessary to track his movements when there were twenty eyes covering every inch of the room. The second he materialized they all knew where he had gone and half of them turned to face him while the rest kept their eyes opened in case he teleported again. They shifted immediately, knowing instinctively the line of sight of all Sisters in the room. The sound of Automatic fire filled the room and the couch and television was shredded by bullets.

Takeki appeared next on the opposite side of the room against the wall by the kitchen. He got off a pair of shots from Yomikawa's gun before teleporting out of the automatics' flak-like attack. The first shot was dodged by what seemed like a preternatural reaction by the nearest Imouto. The second Imouto couldn't move quickly enough and tried to redirect the bullet with a shock of electricity but in the end took it to her arm. Yomikawa's lineup of rice cookers was scrapped by the rest of the Imoutos' fire.

The torrent of deafening sound coupled with the Imouto's nagging finally woke Yomikawa.

"We have the ear pieces, informs MISAKA. Please make haste in activating the defense system, MISAKA urges."

Yomikawa nodded as she squeezed her eyes together in pain and pressed her palm against the blood flowing from her head. The Imouto slipped under Yomikawa's arm and helped her move to the bedroom. There Yomikawa approached a key panel next to the door and entered a combination. A high-frequency noise screeched through the entire apartment. Before leaving the bedroom Yomikawa grabbed her shield.

As the alarm went off Takeki fell out of the 11th dimension, mid teleport, and clawed his way quickly to the cover of the kitchen counter. There he grabbed at his pulsing head and fought off the agony, eyes darting like a cornered animal as he watched for the Sisters to round the corner.

The Sisters' assault had ended with the arrival of the sound and, for the most part, they stood as still and as silent as statues. The only exceptions were three Imoutos that Takeki had shot since Yomikawa's awakening who were supporting each other and retreating through the front door. Last Order staggered to the front of the troops and was soon joined by Yomikawa who shielded both of them with her transparent shield.

"As part of Anti-skill I am required to take you peacefully, if possible. This noise you're hearing is Capacity Down. It is an anti-Esper device that suppresses their abilities. It is pointless for you to continue to resist. Slide your weapon out of the kitchen, put your hands behind your hand, and come out slowly."

After a hesitant moment the gun appeared from the kitchen, thrown spitefully rather than slid as demanded. Another few seconds of anticipation saw the Mage Slayer step into view with his hands behind his head.

…

_Well, this is a fine mess I'm stuck in_, Takeki thought over the throbbing headache. _Where the hell is my way out?_

Though this wasn't the first time his powers were sealed, it was the first time that he had been in such a detrimental position at the same time. Almost twenty automatic rifles stood between him and the door and his body was bruised and broken from his battles the previous couple of nights. Since they were offering him a peaceful surrender he would normally just go along with it until he could find an opening. Between the power suppresser they were using and the handcuffs they undoubtedly had he knew he would never have that chance. If he was going to escape he would need to do it now.

Lost in thought, Takeki didn't hear what the Antiskill officer said next, but he noticed one of the clones retreat to another room at the command. He smirked a little, _Alright! That leaves only… way too many guns to deal with._

While he was entertaining himself with his sarcasm something caught his eye. As the clone walked towards the door her head turned and he saw a small metal contraption in her ear. Everything finally clicked in his head. He had recognized from the beginning that his power was being disrupted by the odd noise in the air; it was obvious. But for whatever reason it never occurred to him that it shouldn't affect him if he didn't hear it. It's odd how the human mind can know so much but never make the connections when it needs to.

Since the clones were using a machine to cancel the noise that probably implied that normal ear plugs wouldn't work. But if his senses were shut off… or rather if something else's senses were shut off…

…

"Trash!" Takeki commanded as he entered the red-shadowed area. "I'm giving you permission to take over my body. Don't screw up."

The arcane bindings released her and she crumpled to the ground. She sat up sidesaddle but didn't move otherwise. She only stared at the ground, looking depressed.

"What are you waiting for?" Takeki yelled. "We don't have any time! Move!"

"No," she whispered

Anger flushed Takeki's face. "What?" He somehow managed to keep his voice under control.

"I don't want to. I'm done with this." She continued to avoid eye contact.

"I said we don't have time! Just do it!"

At last she looked into his eyes. Her expression rattled him. There was no abstinence. There was no fear, no hate. She held no feelings against him.

She was utterly defeated. Her features told of a person who had completely given up. A person whose only wish was to let it all end so she could rest. For Takeki, who had spent his whole life clawing against every odd just to stay alive, that was the most dangerous emotion.

"Damn it," Takeki whispered as a shiver rattled his bones. He was dead. If she wouldn't help him it was all over. There was no other way out.

He staggered forward, no strength left to his body, and crumpled to his knees before the girl. Head hung limp he reached out and gently took her hand.

"_Please_," he urged. His voice cracked, his will broken. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, speechless. "I don't want to die here," he confided in her. "There are still things I want to do."

Tears fell from her eyes. She loved him. She hated seeing him like this. But would anything change if they got out of here? She knew him better than anyone, and she understood that he would never feel indebted to her- because she wasn't human.

"If it's alright," she whispered to him, "could you please give me back my hair."

She wanted him to know it wasn't a trade; it wasn't business. She wanted it to be a reward. She wanted it to be a gift, given because he appreciated her; because he was glad she had help him; because she had made him happy.

Takeki shuddered. His stomach raged against the request, but his brain reasoned that he could live with the results. He took a ragged breath and looked into her eyes. He couldn't bring out any anger against her plea, though he desired to. If he could become angry at her, if he could be condescending, that meant that he was still above her. That he was still looking down on her. But right then he was at eye level with her, in every possible sense.

He nodded.

White, semitransparent strands flowed from her head. It grew in lush and straight. As it lengthened it fell like a waterfall from her scalp to her shoulders and down her back. It slowed as it reached her lower back and, in the same fashion, color began flooding through the fibers. The pale-brown dripped down the length until every individual hair was colored. When it was done the hair darkened and tinged slightly red.

Takeki's stomach twisted and heaved. The sight sickened him. He thought he could handle seeing it, but he had been wrong. To his surprise, tears sprung into his eyes. He couldn't understand why. He had told himself that to see her like that was repulsive. He had convinced himself that his disgust was the cause of this feeling in his stomach.

No matter how his intellect struggled to rationalize it, his body would tell the truth.

The girl reached forward, her face soaked with far more tears than his, and wrapped her arms around him. With a kiss she faded like mist into his body.

…

As an Imouto approached Mage Slayer with a pair of handcuffs he faltered. He had closed his eyes a few minutes ago and now he opened them. He began shaking and his hands wrapped around his stomach. The room was filled with tension by the sudden movement. The Imouto with the cuffs leapt away. Safeties were removed and Yomikawa pulled Last Order tight against her body, bracing with the shield.

"Onii-chan!" Mage Slayer cried. His voice was odd, its pitch higher than it had been. He screamed as loud as he could, as if he couldn't tell how loud he was yelling. "Onii-chan it hurts!"

"Hey! I told you not to move! Freeze!" Yomikawa screamed at him, the strange actions performed before her tugging fear from her chest.

"MISAKA requests orders," spoke one of the nearby clones.

"Hold your fire. If he teleports or moves from that spot you may fire at will."

The MISAKA clone looked to Last Order who nodded in agreement with Yomikawa.

"Onii-chan!" Tears flowed from the young man's face.

…

From another place Takeki watched a floating mirage-like image. Having given up his physical body, he couldn't feel the pain from his wounds anymore just as he couldn't move his limbs. He didn't feel the tears stream down his body's cheeks or taste the air that he gasped in as he sobbed. The only sense he retained fully was his hearing. Otherwise he only possessed just enough of his vision to get an idea of what was going on. With all the other disabilities he was fostering he couldn't possibly go without his sight. He was barely keeping himself composed as it was. If everything around him went dark he didn't know if he would be able to bare the sensory deprivation.

"Get it together and get out of here!" He shouted.

…

The Mage Slayer slowly composed himself. "Alright, Onii-chan," he sniffled. He put his hands behind his head to show that he was cooperating and then knelt down. He stared past all the Imoutos' legs and met Last Order's eyes through the transparent shield. He gave a friendly smile and tilted his head to the side. "I'm sorry, little girl. He has gone through some painful things that have made him dislike us. Could you please forgive him?"

Last Order blinked. With the entire MISAKA network to contemplate the situation, the child-sized MISAKA still couldn't understand what was happening. Unsure of herself, she nodded hesitantly.

"Thank you," Mage Slayer smiled brightly, a few more tears crossed his cheeks. "I'm really glad."

Then he disappeared.


	16. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Takeki had snuck out of his hospital room. The way he saw it, the hole in his back only hurt. Now that it had stopped bleeding he should be allowed out of his bed. The doctors, however, had been against it. For reasons they didn't entirely explain he was to remain in his room until they said otherwise. Takeki was fine with staying in the hospital, but he needed to see Awaki.

A pair of men dressed in suits was standing just inside the unit's door when he arrived. He was going to address them but was stopped by their conversation.

"We may as well clone her, too."

"Already done."

The statement blew Takeki's mind. He pressed his back to the wall and listened, hoping to understand what they were saying

"Really? When did you get her map?"

"The first day she got in. I figured that if she didn't recover from the surgery we could just replace her with the clone and no one would be the wiser."

"I don't know, wouldn't the family realize it?"

"She's had a hell of a time. Who's to say that she might not be the same afterwards?"

"I guess you're right. How long until the clone finishes development?"

"She'll be out of the tank by Friday."

There was some silence before the first man spoke back up. "So why don't we switch them anyway?"

"What?"

"Well, why can't we just replace her now? If the clones turn out to be just as good as the originals she would be a great asset. This girl is going into the Level 5 program. Depending on how powerful she becomes she could even become part of the Mayday project. Think about it. If she was blindly loyal to us we could use her to infiltrate it. She would tell us everything that they are doing, all their secrets. Heck, why should it stop there? With her power she could sneak into any high-security facility in the underground. The Railgun's power may be ideal for producing soldiers, but we could make great spies out of this one's DNA."

"Then what do we do with the original?"

The first man didn't respond immediately. Even though Takeki couldn't see his face he could tell that the man was smiling. "We junk her. If she can't become a Level 5 she's nothing but trash anyway."

(***)

Takeki had himself curled up in the corner of his hospital room. He was still shaking. His heart had been frozen by the apathy in the man's voice. Takeki had always been an empathetic person and could understand people easily. He was rattled by the complete lack of concern the man had for peoples' lives. With his natural insight he implicitly knew that the man wasn't putting on a front; that person's soul was the coldest and most uncaring Takeki had ever felt. It was frightening.

While Takeki was lost in his chaotic thoughts the door slid open. From outside Takeki's sight the visitor gave a surprised grunt. Footsteps followed and a wide, homely face appeared above the bed.

"Oh dear," the frog-faced doctor sighed. He walked around the bed and knelt down before Takeki. "I thought you were holding up alright," he mumbled as if he didn't expect an answer. As he spoke his hands began a rote examination of Takeki's head checking for a concussion, any new bumps, or a fever- anything that would explain the boy's behavior. "What happened to you?"

Takeki stared at the man as he worked. It was the doctor. The doctor that had saved his sister from certain death. The doctor that could save her again…

"Sensei!" Takeki blurted out, tears coming to his eyes. The outburst startled the doctor and sent him falling backwards onto his rear. "Please! You have to save her, Sensei!" Takeki prostrated himself on the floor and clutched pitifully at the doctor's pants.

"Calm down, Takeki-kun!" The doctor reached forward and grabbed the boy's shoulders to raise him off the ground. "I've already saved your sister! She's all right!"

"That's not it, Sensei! That man! He's going to kill her!"

"Takeki-kun, you need to calm down! The boy that attacked you was taken away! He can't hurt you or your sister anymore!"

"Not him! There was another man! In her room just now!"

"My god, you must be delirious. Come, let's go down to the neurology ward so we can run some tests." Heaven Canceller picked the boy up, a deep pity filling his face, and started walking him towards the door.

"Sensei! I'm not crazy! I saw them! There were two of them and the one said he was going to-!"

"Takeki-kun!" the doctor snapped. Takeki shut up instantly. "I have not cleared any visitors to your sister's room! No one aside from the nurse I assigned is allowed into that room!" Heaven Canceller closed his eyes and took a breath. "Therefore," he said gently, "you are clearly mistaken."

Takeki was thoroughly stunned. He didn't resist as the doctor escorted him, and didn't rebuke him when the doctor mused again, "I wonder what could have caused this."

(***)

Takeki lay in his hospital bed hours later. It was hard for him to think. That was, of course, because he wasn't supposed to be thinking. He was supposed to be recuperating. That was why they medicated him.

Takeki gave a little laugh.

They were stopping him from thinking because he had been right. For some reason that seemed funny to him. He was being wronged by wrong people because he was right and they were wrong.

Hilarious.

None of their scanners had picked up anything. None of their precious machines could pinpoint a fault with him. Even the few bumps on his head from _that_ day had gone away. And so they had decided that it was because he had gotten out of bed.

Wasn't that funny?

Takeki wasn't entirely sure why, but that was definitely funny. They thought that simply getting out of bed had made him crazy. Didn't they get out of bed this morning? Well then, they must be crazy, too!

So Takeki would never leave his bed again. He didn't want to be crazy, after all. He would just lie there forever and laugh at the crazy people that had made the mistake of getting out of bed!

Takeki was already laughing. But, he realized, there was nobody there. How could he be laughing at crazy people if there wasn't anyone but himself in the room? Since the only person he could be laughing at was himself that meant that he must be crazy. And if he was already crazy then there was no point in staying in bed.

He got out of bed and staggered over to the window. Barely able to keep his balance, he leaned all his weight on the sill and let his head slump limply against the window. With his left cheek and eyebrow smushed against the pane he could only see from his right eye. The clouds looked like mashed potatoes. The black sky was obviously gravy. Well, it might be blueberry gravy because it was a little blue. That was pretty cool: blueberry gravy.

His eye drifted down towards the parking lot. Since he couldn't see it that well he drunkenly rolled his weight onto his forehead so that he was square with frame. He kicked his right leg way out to stop himself from falling over. He tried looking down again and found that he had to push himself back up with his arms so that he could face his head down and tripod himself up with the top of it.

The lights in the parking lot were bright. They were a lot brighter than candles. That electricity would be brighter than fire was weird. Because fire lasts a lot longer than lightning.

…

Takeki jerked away from the window. His mind was suddenly as focused as a laser. In the parking lot were the two men he had seen in his sister's room. They were leaning against a pickup truck smoking cigarettes.

He twirled from the window and started running. He didn't make it past his bed before he got unbearably dizzy and flailed to the ground. He wheezed from the impact and tried to get up. The dizziness took his arms out before he could even get his feet under him. He flopped to his side as if he had been shoved and started heaving. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and whimpered from the flood of sensory input. He felt like he was flipping and spinning on some out-of-control amusement park ride and his abdominal muscles were burning and slowly turned sore from throwing up.

He wasn't sure how long he had been on the ground when his mind cleared and he stopped throwing up. It took him another handful of moments to remember what it was he had been doing before his mind and body had taken a joyride through hell. He slowly got back to his feet and sat on the bed, taking deep breaths to clear everything up. As he finished recomposing himself it occurred to him that the two men wouldn't be waiting in the parking lot forever. Thus motivated he got to his feet.

His legs and arms felt completely fatigued. He could move them, but they felt like jello and he questioned if he could even run if he wanted to. Meanwhile, every breath drew attention to his sore diaphragm. Had he looked in the mirror he would have seen that the blood vessels around his eyes had burst from vomiting so vehemently, giving him rings around his eyes like some kind of undead raccoon.

But, despite how much of a mess he was, he had a mission. He had to do everything in his power to protect his sister. It was obvious that the doctor wouldn't do anything. Not that he could have done much, given how easily the men had let themselves into Awaki's room despite the doctor's prohibition. Furthermore, because of his run in with the doctor earlier he probably wouldn't be able to convince Antiskill either. If they contacted the hospital they would find out Takeki had been diagnosed with temporary dementia.

Takeki ran down the hallway. He didn't feel confident in his strides, but he was making good time and keeping his balance nonetheless. He blew by an- thankfully- empty nurses' station. The elevator would have probably taken the same amount of time as the stairs, but Takeki was afraid to stop moving. He wasn't sure if he would be able to start moving again if he stopped. If the adrenaline stopped flowing he wasn't even sure that he could stay awake. So he took the stairs, nearly broking his neck a few times on his way down but he still managed to make it to the bottom.

He threw open the door at the bottom and heard a muffled cry as it struck someone. Turning quickly he saw a male nurse trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. Takeki panicked and threw his whole body at the man. With his hands preoccupied, the nurse had no chance to stop himself from hitting the wall. His head gave an audible thud as it bounced off the wall and the nurse slumped unconscious to the ground. Takeki stared in disbelief at what he had just done. He trembled. The back of his head started itching as he imagined just how much the blow must have hurt.

He had never wanted to hurt anyone. Yet he had just done so. It wasn't even someone who had deserved it. It wasn't even in self defense. He had just knocked out some poor nurse, someone who devoted their life to helping other people. He had broken his nose and, as if that hadn't been enough, bounced the man's head against the wall.

Takeki horrified himself. So he ran.

He ran as quickly as he could. He kept his head down and squeezed tears from his eyes.

He soon found himself at a faculty entrance. Without a second thought he stole a black jacket from the coat rack and put it on. He opened the door slowly, searching the area for anyone that would stop him. There was no such person. He left the asylum and stepped out into the black streets of Academy City.

He moved as swiftly and as silently as he could to the corner of the building and peeked around it. A blue Lamborghini was parked next to the truck. The suited men smiled and waved goodbye, whatever words they used were lost upon the wind. The Lamborghini revved and pulled away and the two men got into the pickup.

Takeki didn't bother thinking about what he was doing. He simply ran as fast as he could. The windows were up on the truck and music was playing, blocking out any noise he was making. The men were too busy talking to each other to notice Takeki running up behind them. As Takeki got to the back gate the driver put the automobile into drive. He pulled his slim body into the bed as the truck rolled forward. He thought he saw the driver check his rearview mirror but he evidently didn't see Takeki scrambling towards the cab. Takeki wormed his way under a dirty tarp in the corner next to the toolbox.

As he caught his breath his fatigue caught him. He drifted into dark dreams and was dead to the world around him.

(***)

Takeki awoke to the pattering of raindrops. They splashed of off the tarp and sprinkled his eyes. Hoping the rain would mask any noise he made as he escaped from the heavy plastic he wormed his way to the surface. The world was dim but not dark, signifying that it was still day behind the clouds. Peeking over the edge of the bed he found himself alone in an asphalt lot.

His stomach was killing him and he had a headache, but he was pleased to find that strength had returned to his limbs. He stood in the bed and stretched his cramped joints, taking in the surroundings.

He was deep in the city. While the parking lot was large, it was bordered on all sides by the blank, gray backs of buildings. None of the buildings around him had windows, probably because they weren't necessary for the kind of work that went on in them. They were all worn and dirty and the concrete was cracked in places. The only building that opened towards the lot was on his left. The entrance was wide and sunken below ground level, as if it had originally been an underground tunnel that had been expanded into a tower after the fact.

This world didn't look anything like the Academy City he knew. It wasn't brimming with hope and there wasn't any hint of the technical advances the city was famous for. Even if the buildings in the city were packed close together, the streets and sidewalks were wide and bright to prevent any feeling of enclosure. There were parks and trees, bright televisions and music everywhere. The silence in this place was unreal, unnatural. Slowly a comparison dawned on Takeki; this place was like a prison. All rough concrete, sharp angles, and dull colors. As that soaked into him he slowly sat down onto the tarp.

What was he going to do? He had stowed away impulsively under the influence of the medication. He didn't know where he was. He didn't have a plan. He wasn't even sure where to start.

_"We junk her. If she can't become a Level 5 she's nothing but trash anyway."_

The words filled Takeki's head. Anger flushed his face and his ears started burning. He clenched his fists until they hurt and his body shook as if the rage was trying to break through his skin.

He wouldn't allow that. He couldn't allow it. Even if his body died his spirit would become a ghost and continue fighting. He would continue protecting his sister until they obliterated his entire existence. So long as he existed he would stand against them.

He opened the toolbox next to him. He fished around in it for several minutes, his higher consciousness not sure why. His hands grabbed at a hammer which he discarded immediately, something about being poorly balanced drifting from his lips. A crowbar was the next thing he picked up before muttering that it lacked weight. He rooted through the chest for a couple more minutes and suddenly sat up, his back arched as if he was trying to keep his distance from whatever was inside.

He took a few, slow breathes before gingerly bending forward and retrieving a large monkey wrench. Its weight was heavy in his hands, much heavier than it looked. The weight he felt was the weight of lives. As his grip tightened around the handle his intellect understood why he had been looking in the toolbox: he was searching for a weapon.

Somewhere in his heart was a dark shadow that he had never seen. It had been obscured by his devotion to his sister, by his willingness to stand up to other people, and his sense of justice. _Those were all excuses_, the shadow told him. He had a black spot on his soul that made him want to fight. With his sister's backing at school he never had the chance. Now he would fight.

_Or maybe it was the drugs still affecting him_, his brain argued. Just the previous night he had sickened himself when he injured the nurse. Didn't that prove that he was a passive, empathetic person? That he thought violence abhorrent?

_And maybe the drugs would be affecting him in the future_, the dark spot grinned. If that was so, then it would have an excuse to hurt people. _Takeki_ wouldn't have to feel bad about it. It wasn't his fault. He was under the influence of something he couldn't fight. When it was all over he would go to sleep, and when he woke up next he would be back to normal. _Takeki_ could forget about the lives he took today because they were done by someone completely different, by something that didn't normally live in this body.

For his sister's sake, both sides of him could accept that reasoning. He took a screwdriver from the chest and pocketed it, then climbed out of the truck.


End file.
